Mandate of the Ontario Heritage Trust

The Ontario Heritage Trust has a provincewide mandate to conserve, interpret and share Ontario’s heritage. We act as a centre of expertise, and serve as the heritage trustee and steward for the people of Ontario. We conserve provincially significant cultural and natural, tangible and intangible heritage, interpret Ontario’s history, celebrate its diversity, and educate Ontarians of its importance in our society. [Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O.1990]

The Ontario Heritage Trust is an agency of the Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.

The Trust is mandated to:

Advise and make recommendations to the Minister on any matter relating to the conservation, protection and preservation of the heritage of Ontario;
Receive, acquire and hold property in trust for the people of Ontario;
Support, encourage and facilitate the conservation, protection and preservation of the heritage of Ontario;
Preserve, maintain, reconstruct, restore and manage property of historical, architectural, archaeological, recreational, esthetic, natural and scenic interest; and
Conduct research and implement educational and communications programs necessary for heritage conservation, protection and preservation.

The Trust demonstrates its commitment to engage all Ontarians in the work and promotion of heritage conservation in a number of ways. We do this by:

providing public access to many of our properties
recognizing individuals, youth and communities through our annual recognition programs
featuring our programs and activities through our magazine Heritage Matters
hosting special events like plaque unveilings and open houses
sharing our expertise through workshops, seminars, conferences and special publications
providing technical advice and assistance
conducting and documenting significant archaeological work
maintaining a database on Ontario’s Places of Worship
celebrating Ontario's Heritage Week the third week of February each year
discovering Ontario's heritage treasures and natural beauty through the popular provincewide Doors Open Ontario program

Governance

The Ontario Heritage Trust, established in 1967, is the province’s heritage agency, with a statutory responsibility for identifying, preserving, protecting and promoting built, cultural and natural heritage across the province. The responsibilities and powers of the Trust are set out in Part II of the Ontario Heritage Act.