Heritage Toronto is an agency of the Municipal Government of Toronto that seeks to promotes public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of Toronto's cultural, architectural, archaeological, and natural heritage. It is located in St. Lawrence Hall.
Governance Heritage Toronto was established as the Toronto Historical Board by the former Toronto City Council in 1960. In 1999, the name was changed to Heritage Toronto.
Heritage Toronto is governed by a board of 23 members, appointed by City Council. The Board is made up of 21 public members, including one member from the Aboriginal community, one City Council member, and the Mayor or Council member-designate. The Board elects the Chair and Vice-chair among its own members.
Programming
Tours From late Spring through October, Heritage Toronto offers walking, bicycle and bus tours around the city. These tours travel over hundreds of kilometers and explore parks, well-known landmarks, and historical neighborhoods through Toronto. Tours are driven by volunteers, community partners, and an annual cohort of Emerging Historians.
Historical Plaques Seeking to educate and enlighten the public about Toronto's past, Heritage Toronto's Historical Plaques tell stories of people, places, or events that monumental to Toronto's history. Anyone may apply for a Heritage Toronto plaque so long as the applicant can secure funding for the plaque. They also sell plaques for Century Houses - homes that are over 100 years old.
Heritage Toronto Awards Beginning in 1974, the Heritage Toronto awards have been held annually to celebrate individuals, organizations, and the projects they create. Nomination categories include the Book Award, for first edition non-fiction books related to Toronto's shared past and peoples' lived experiences; the Build Heritage Award, dedicated to heritage conservation and adaptive reuse on historical property or architecture; and the Public History Award, awarded to projects that promote Toronto's history. Previous winners of the Public History Award have included documentary films, digital exhibitions, public art, and walking tours.
Equity Heritage Initiative In 2025, Heritage Toronto launched the Equity Heritage Initiative, which seeks to provide mentorship and paid work to emerging historians from under-represented communities, as well as supporting new programming and community partnerships.
Lectures Year Lecturer Lecture Title 1996 Robert Fulford The Invention of Toronto – A City Defined by its Artists 1997 John Ralston Saul Toronto and the Idea of the Public Good 1998 Ursula Franklin Citizen Politics: Advocacy in the Urban Habitat 1999 George Baird Needed: An Urban Vision for Toronto, Again 2000 Robert Fung & Michael Kirkland Our Last Best Chance: Realizing a Century Old Dream 2001 N/A No lecture this year 2002 David Crombie The Idea of Toronto 2003 Sean Conway Toronto as a Capital: Fence Posts and Fingerprints, the Growth of our Democracy 2004 Adrienne Clarkson Green Thoughts in a Green Shade: The Making of a Good City 2005 John Honderich Creative Toronto: Isn't It About Time? 2006 Bruce Kuwabara Toronto's Cultural Renascence: Revival or Survival 2007 David Mirvish The Night of Nights: The History of Theatre in Toronto 2008 John Campbell A Shore Thing: The Future of Toronto's Waterfront 2009 Albert Schultz The Great Toronto Roast 2010 Peter Oundjian "Notes" on Toronto 2011 Cameron Bailey Toronto in Focus: A City of Festivals 2012 Chief Bryan Laforme A Layered City 2013 Gail Dexter Lord Building Heritage With Innovation 2014 Jack Diamond Toronto 1974-2014: A Challenge from the Field 2015 Rahul K. Bhardwaj On Being Nice: Turning Compassion into Our Competitive Advantage 2016 Steven High Our Industrial Heritage
Special projects
Sounds Like Toronto Sounds Like Toronto was an online exhibit launched in 2021, and was largest digital project by Heritage Toronto. It consisted of 35 stories featuring artists and venues that epitomized Toronto's music history, and combined exclusive audio and video interviews, 3D objects, and interactive tours, hoping to impart a better understanding of the city's shared music heritage and the broader social issues that have defined Canadian cultural history.
State of Heritage Report Released every four years to coincide with Toronto municipal elections, the State of Heritage Report provides a picture of the current state of heritage in Toronto, lays out goals for strengthening the heritage sector and provides recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, senior staff and decision makers to improve heritage management. Prior to the release of the State of Heritage Report, Heritage Toronto hosts the Heritage Matters Mayoral Candidates Debate.
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