Hello Byron!
Thanks very much for the rapid response and I'm sorry for taking this long to get back to you. The issue is, when I do exactly what you say above, the map does not appear. I've tried to trouble shoot and as such I have played around with the Maps file in JMP with the Canada maps there. In short, I can get the background map to appear in the pre-installed Map Files (CA-Admin1-Name.jmp) but even here when I try to include the Census Consolidated Subdivisions boundary file I have downloaded (using the check box for this file from the Boundaries list on the right hand side of the "Background Map" panel) JMP immediately crashes, every time. So in one case I can't get the background map although I can get the boundaries (and I've followed your instructions exactly and tried every option from "Simple Earth" down and still I do not get a background map) and in the other I can get the background map but not the boundaries, hah!
Effectively what I am attempting to do, in the long run, is overlay political boundaries with background maps and, if possible, soil shape files that I can download online. I've attached an example of something similar to what I am attempting from ArcGIS, and I've been thinking that the same sort of thing should be similar in JMP, but I've just hit these few issues along the way. Maybe it isn't possible, and that's cool, but I've been trying and from what I've found I think it should be possible, but I'm just not getting something right here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a lot and have a great weekend,
Mick