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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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Francophone heritage
Indigenous heritage
Intangible heritage
Intangible heritage
Intangible cultural heritage includes language, traditions, music, food, special skills, etc.
Medical heritage
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MyOntario
Natural heritage
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Women's heritage

Photo: Curt Clayton

Welcome to the new Heritage Matters!

Explore past issues of our magazine in a new digital format. While we continue to migrate over archived articles, you can still find past issues on our website.

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

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 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...

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...

01 Oct 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture
Arts and creativity
Community

Quiet on the set

Shaftesbury is the company behind the hit television series Murdoch Mysteries and Frankie Drake Mysteries, both of which air on CBC in Canada and are...

Photo: Doors Open Brampton

Doors Open Ontario

Discover the story behind every door!

Start planning your excursion today.

selectedstories

Oct 01, 2019
Economics of heritage
Archaeology
Community
Author: Donovan Rypkema

Nine ways that heritage conservation is good for the economy

Advocates for heritage conservation have traditionally made their case on the basis of architectural character, cultural significance, social relevance, esthetic quality and other values of historical buildings. And those values are as important as ever. In recent years, however, researchers have demonstrated the significant impact that heritage conservation has on the local economy. It is not that the economic value is more important than the other values – indeed it is not. In the long...

This bench overlooks the river and burial mounds (Photo: Chris McEvoy, Rusty Anchor Productions)

Present. Preserve. Protect.

Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre, the Place of the Long Rapids, is a historically significant meeting place located along the banks of Manidoo Ziibi (Spirit River or Rainy River) in Northwestern Ontario. Also known as Manitou Mounds, it is the largest concentration of known burial mounds in North America; it was designated a National Historic Site in 1969. The centre is owned and operated by Rainy River First Nations, and offers interpretive tours and galleries, a collections...

Oct 01, 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture
Author: Michael Emory

Heritage buildings and the evolution of workspace

I work for Allied Properties – a leading owner, manager and developer of urban workspace in major Canadian cities. Allied’s units are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Allied was known initially for its leading role in the emergence of distinctive urban workspace in Toronto. This began in the 1980s and accelerated in the late 1990s. It involved the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings constructed over a century ago for light-industrial use. Properly restored...

Oct 01, 2019
Economics of heritage
Buildings and architecture
Environment
Community
Author: Clare Ronan

Reside: When heritage preservation translates to affordable housing

Raising the Roof is a Canadian charity that provides national leadership in homelessness prevention through various initiatives. Reside is one such project that creates affordable housing by leveraging the availability of vacant and underutilized properties. The overall goal of Reside is to repurpose vacant properties – including heritage sites – into affordable rental units for individuals who are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. Currently, Raising the Roof is renovating two vacant properties in Ontario...

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”...

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site in Dresden is owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust. The property containing Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is part of 200 acres of land purchased in 1841 to establish the Dawn Settlement – a refuge for the many fugitives from slavery who escaped to Canada from the United States. It remains an important part of Ontario’s Black history.

Black heritage

The birth of Black History Month

Ontario’s Black History Month began in the United States as “Negro History Week.” This American celebration of Black history and culture was initiated in 192...