Conserving heritage buildings

Learn about how Parks Canada experts conserve heritage buildings at historic places in Canada.

Parks Canada expertise in action

Parks Canada takes care of many national historic sites across Canada. All of these places reflect the rich and varied heritage of what is now called Canada.

Some of these iconic sites include:

  • Province House National Historic Site in Prince Edward Island
  • The Fortifications of Québec in Quebec
  • The frontier buildings in Dawson City, Yukon
  • Fisgard Lighthouse in British Columbia

Parks Canada team members at York Factory National Historic Site, Manitoba

A person paints a historic wood window.
Applied built heritage manager Golnaz Karimi restores a historic window.
A person wearing a uniform removes a historic wood window from its frame inside a building.
Historical craftsperson Andrew Thompson replaces a historic window.
Two people wearing uniforms stand on the roof of a historic building.
Historic craftspeople, Daniel Van Benthem and Curitis Lavallee, prepare for conservation work.

Heritage buildings

Heritage buildings at Parks Canada’s national historic sites help tell the unique stories of these treasured places. These buildings need ongoing care and maintenance just like any other structure. Thanks to Parks Canada team members, these heritage buildings are cared for for present and future generations.

Parks Canada’s built heritage conservation team

Parks Canada is a leader in conserving Canada’s heritage. Parks Canada employs a team of skilled experts who specialize in caring for historic buildings:

Built heritage experts provide conservation advice to ensure that heritage buildings are maintained and repaired with historically compatible materials and methods. They support the conservation of all kinds of structures including stone fortifications, log cabins, historic homes, and even lighthouses and cemeteries.

Historical craftspeople perform physical conservation work on heritage buildings and heritage structures at national historic sites and culturally important places from coast to coast to coast. Specializing in carpentry, masonry, and blacksmithing, they use traditional techniques known as heritage trades.

Two people install stones on a masonry wall.
Parks Canada historic craftspeople Mark Lawrence and Nick Bogovic rebuild a historic oven using traditional masonry at Red Bay National Historic Site, Newfoundland and Labrador.
A person brushes the top of a masonry wall.
Lawrence is putting the finishing touches on the reconstruction of the historic oven.

Every year, heritage buildings are being conserved and restored so that people can continue to visit, enjoy, and learn about their history.

Here are a few examples of Parks Canada expertise in action.

Accessibility project at Green Gables Heritage Place

Located in Prince Edward Island, Green Gables Heritage Place includes Green Gables House, the farmyard, and the gardens of the property.

Author Lucy Maud Montgomery was inspired by this homestead for her classic novel, Anne of Green Gables. The historic values of this site have been preserved and protected as a place for visitors to experience a piece of Canadian literary history. The Green Gables House interior was recreated to match the fictional home in the novel.

Under the leadership of Parks Canada’s conservation experts, students from Holland College’s Heritage Retrofit Carpentry Program are carefully widening doors and frames on the house’s main floor to make them more accessible to the public. During this work, they are reusing the existing material as much as possible to match to the original.

The vertical door frame and sidelight pieces have been carefully removed, trimmed, or added to, refinished to match, and then reinstalled. The front entry walkway has also been carefully regraded and replaced to make the sill of the front door lower and more accessible to the public.

The front of a white historic building with green trim is seen from its front lawn.
The front entrance of Green Gables House is an important heritage feature at the Green Gables National Historic Site.
The main entrance of a historic building including two steps and a rather narrow door frame.
The front entrance had two steps leading to the original vestibule. These steps made access difficult for visitors using mobility devices.
The main entrance of a historic building shows a rather wide door frame and the doorstep at the same height as the path leading to it.
The conservation work included widening the main doorway and frame, and creating a gently sloped path to the front entrance. These changes improved accessibility while keeping the heritage value of the house.

Learn more about Green Gables Heritage Place and plan a visit

Interior masonry at Province House National Historic Site

Province House is a complex building with a complex history. Built more than 175 years ago, it is the longest serving legislative building in Canada.

This national historic site is currently undergoing a large multi-year conservation project. The project presents a number of unique challenges in respecting its outstanding architectural heritage while supporting its use by politicians and the public well into the future.

One key aspect of the project has been the interior masonry work. The interior walls of Province House, made of Prince Edward Island sandstone, required large-scale repairs.

This video showcases the years-long process to replace 108 cubic metres of sandstone.

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Learn more about Province House National Historic Site and plan a visit

Heritage wood windows restoration at Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic Site

Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic Site in Prince Edward Island is the former summer home of a wealthy oil tycoon. It was built using heritage materials and features such as gables, dormers and bay windows. After years of use, its windows were in need of some attention.

In October 2024, Parks Canada’s team of heritage craftspeople spent 2 weeks restoring many of the heritage wood windows at Dalvay-by-the-Sea. The team restored the windows instead of replacing them to divert waste from the landfill. Restoring the heritage windows also allows us to conserve a piece of Canadian history for years to come.

Over the course of the project Parks Canada craftspeople:

  • repaired damaged wood frames
  • reputtied and repainted window sashes using traditional linseed oil
  • removed incompatible materials from past repair work
  • ensured the ground-floor windows at the national historic site were prepared to stand the test of time once again
Two craftspeople inspect the exterior of a large heritage window
Parks Canada historic craftspeople inspect the exterior of the wooden window frames at the Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic Site.
Two heritage craftspeople work off scaffolding to restore a large heritage window on the exterior of a historic mansion.
Historic craftspeople Andrew Thompson and Daniel Van Benthem use scaffolding to restore wooden window frames at height.

Learn more about Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic Site and plan a visit.

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