Executive summary

Part III.1 of the Ontario Heritage Act authorized the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries to prepare Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties.

These standards and guidelines were prepared in consultation with ministries and affected public bodies. They set out the criteria and process for identifying provincial heritage properties and the standards for their protection, maintenance, use and disposal.

The standards and guidelines require all ministries and prescribed public bodies to identify, protect and care for provincial heritage properties they own or manage. The standards and guidelines apply to provincial heritage properties that are:

  • owned by a ministry
  • owned by a prescribed public body
  • occupied by a ministry or prescribed public body if they are entitled to make alterations

Examples of provincial heritage properties include:

  • courthouses and jails
  • monuments and cemeteries
  • historic gardens and forts
  • provincial parks and cultural heritage landscapes
  • power generating stations and provincial mental health facilities
  • bridges, museums and historic houses

If you have a question about the identification, care and management of provincial heritage property, contact the property owner or authority.

Other policies and procedures

Under the standards and guidelines, each ministry and prescribed public body must establish and maintain a cultural heritage conservation policy and procedure(s) for identifying and managing provincial heritage properties.

Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties

These standards and guidelines set out the criteria and process for identifying provincial heritage properties and set standards for their protection, maintenance, use and disposal.

Source law

List of prescribed public bodies

The standards and guidelines apply to properties owned or controlled by the province — that is, by provincial ministries and by prescribed public bodies.

The following public bodies have been prescribed under Ontario Regulation 157/10: