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Expanding the narrative
Expanding the narrative
This is part of a broader conversation about whose history is being told, about gender, people of colour and the economically disenfranchised, and others whose stories have been overlooked or intentionally omitted from the authorized discussion.
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Intangible heritage
Intangible cultural heritage includes language, traditions, music, food, special skills, etc.
Medical heritage
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MyOntario
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Photo: Curt Clayton

Welcome to the new Heritage Matters!

Explore past issues of our magazine in a new digital format.

Photo courtesy of Donovan Rypkema

Nine ways that heritage conservation is good for the economy

By Donovan Rypkema. Advocates for heritage conservation have traditionally made their case on the basis of architectural character, cultural significance, social relevance ...

Photo: Richard Adams

Explore our stories about buildings and architecture

Check out the many stories published by the Ontario Heritage Trust about buildings and architecture - from adaptive re-use and conservation activities to iconic structures and the economic impact of heritage ...

Photo: Destination Ontario

Revitalizing communities – The power of conservation

By Beth Hanna. The Trust team has been examining whose stories we tell, and whose heritage we protect through our sites and programs. We are working on expanding that narrative to a more honest, authentic and inclusive portrayal of Ontario’s heritage. These are important and timely discussions ...

Latest features

Josiah Henson (Photo: Schlesinger Library, Harvard University)

27 Jul 2022
Expanding the narrative
Black heritage

Celebrating Josiah – Introducing the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

“I’ll use my freedom well.” Josiah Henson made this promise to Captain Burnham, who helped him and his family in the last part of their journey. And he lived up to his promise. Do you know Josiah’s story? Many Canadians don’t – and they should. We all should. Josiah Henson was born in 1789, held as a slave from birth. In 1830, he escaped, travelling 1,030 km (640 miles) from Kentucky with his wife Charlotte...

A provincial plaque was unveiled in 2010 as part of the Emancipation Day event at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site in Dresden to commemorate Hugh Burnett and the National Unity Association.

21 Apr 2022
Expanding the narrative
Black heritage

Setting the record straight – Updating four Black history plaques

I’d like to tell you about Solomon Moseby. In 1837, Moseby fled to Niagara to escape slavery in Kentucky. When his extradition back to the...

The Canadian Niagara Power Generating Station was opened for a special Doors Open weekend on October 26-27, 2019. (Photo: Niagara Parks)

01 Oct 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture
Community

How Doors Open Ontario activates the province’s communities

The Ontario Heritage Trust’s Doors Open Ontario program works with communities and partners to open the doors, gates and courtyards of Ontario’s most unique and...

Children from Pelee Island Pubic School helping to collect seeds for restoration projects

01 Oct 2019
Economics of heritage
Environment

Conserving what we value

It was my time to finally get my message across. About 15 years ago, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) was beginning to purchase properties...

Re-saturating calcimine paint on decorative plaster moulding from 1817. Reproduction rosettes at top left. Homemade traditional plasterer’s tools at bottom left. (Macdonell-Williamson House, Chute-a-Blondeau)

01 Oct 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture

The case for craftsmanship

One of the greater pleasures of working in architectural conservation in Ontario is the opportunity it provides to work with traditional building materials: the timber...

Martintown Grist Mill, near Cornwall

Doors Open Ontario

Discover the story behind every door!

Start planning your excursion today.

selectedstories

Setting the record straight – Updating four Black history plaques

I’d like to tell you about Solomon Moseby. In 1837, Moseby fled to Niagara to escape slavery in Kentucky. When his extradition back to the United States was approved, members of the Niagara community mobilized to protest his return to slavery and to protect Black rights in Canada. They successfully obstructed his removal while he escaped. It is a complex and compelling story that helped to establish Canadian extradition and refugee policies, which are still...

Oct 01, 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture
Community
Author: David Leonard

How Doors Open Ontario activates the province’s communities

The Ontario Heritage Trust’s Doors Open Ontario program works with communities and partners to open the doors, gates and courtyards of Ontario’s most unique and fascinating cultural sites in order to encourage Ontarians to discover the stories inside. From historical houses to modern marvels of construction, Doors Open Ontario showcases the buildings, natural spaces, infrastructure and cultural landscapes that shape and define our communities. The program encourages Ontarians to experience their history up close, behind...

Visitor Centre at Petroglyphs Provincial Park

Kinomaage Waapkong – The Teaching Rocks

When one makes the journey to Kinomaage Waapkong – known in English as Petroglyph Provincial Park – one is struck by the incredible beauty of the drive into the park. The drive out of the park is equally as beautiful. It becomes apparent that you are on sacred ground. The glyph site will attest to that....

Ludovika Berta (one of a dwindling number of furriers)

Sep 07, 2018
Expanding the narrative
Author: Karl Kessler

Portraits of a vanishing Canada

“The more you know about any life – or anything – the more you respect it.” Louis Pfeifer was one of Kitchener-Waterloo’s last shoemakers. Between 2008 and 2018, Sunshine Chen and I talked with and photographed more than 50 people who were, like Louis, among the last of their kind in their trades, professions or other traditions. Most of these practices were once widespread, ingrained in the 20th-century experience. “Fixing shoes is not so simple,”...

Expanding the narrative
Black heritage

Celebrating Josiah – Introducing the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

“I’ll use my freedom well.” Josiah Henson made this promise to Captain Burnham, who helped him and his family in the last part of their...

Expanding the narrative
Black heritage

Setting the record straight – Updating four Black history plaques

I’d like to tell you about Solomon Moseby. In 1837, Moseby fled to Niagara to escape slavery in Kentucky. When his extradition back to the...

Buildings and architecture
Cultural objects

The Homewood collection

As you drive east along Highway 2 between Brockville and Prescott, you will find the robust Georgian Homewood Museum deeply set back from the road...

Buildings and architecture

Trent University under the modernist microscope

Throughout the developed world, attention is being given to the built heritage of the modern era. Organizations such as UNESCO's World Heritage Center, the International...

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre (Toronto). In 1987, a basement is excavated under the lobby corridor, and the grand staircase is suspended in the air.

Buildings and architecture
Tools for conservation

Working with superstructures: The framework for Ontario's heritage buildings

Last issue, we discussed the importance of a solid foundation when preserving heritage structures. In this issue, we see how a buildingʼs skeleton holds everything...

Buildings and architecture

Leidra Lodge – A new conservation easement

June Ardiel has been a patron and leader in Ontario's arts community all her life. She has authored a book on the public art of...

Natural heritage

Visiting the Cheltenham Badlands

Nestled on the Niagara Escarpment amid the rolling countryside of the Caledon Hills lies a unique landscape locally known as the Cheltenham Badlands. The site...

Toronto-Dominion Centre (Photo: The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd.)

Buildings and architecture

The changing face of heritage: The International Style – Toronto’s Toronto-Dominion Centre

In the second quarter of the 20th century following the First World War, Europe saw the emergence of a significant movement in architecture. This “modern”...