How to Protect your Historic Place

One of the ways you can help to protect a historic place is to have it formally recognized by your municipal, provincial, territorial, or federal government. Places that are important to the entire country may be recognized as National Historic Sites of Canada. Each province and territory has a different system of formally recognizing historic places. For most jurisdictions, follow these steps:

Step 1: Search the Canadian Register of Historic Places to find out if the place has been listed.

Step 2: Think about what makes the place important.

Is the place associated with a historically significant theme, person or event? If it's a building, is it special for its architecture or design? Does the place have special meaning because of its landmark, spiritual, or cultural associations?

Step 3: Consider your answers to the questions above.

Is your place important at the national, provincial/territorial, or municipal level?

Step 4:  Level of Designation

1. If you think your place is nationally significant, seek a national historic sites designation.
2. If you think your place is important to the province or territory, seek a provincial or territorial designation.
3. If you think your place is locally significant, seek a municipal designation.

 

Step 5: Contact your federal/provincial/territorial heritage program.

Times for the designation process to be completed will vary from place to place. Please be patient!

Step 6: Listing your historic place on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

How can I get my historic place listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places? All historic places designated at the municipal, provincial, and federal level, with the exception of some natural and paleontological places, will eventually be placed on the Canadian Register.