PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF THE CANADA HISTORY CENTRE

May 26, 2003
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced the creation of the Canada History Centre. This new institution will be committed to providing access to our political and civic history highlighting the important roles played by Aboriginal peoples, settlers and later immigrants who arrived to help make Canada the dynamic, democratic country it is today.

"Our political history is a rich one that needs to be told," said Prime Minister Chrétien. "The Canada of today was determined by the will of its people and by the vision of the leaders they chose to represent them. The Canada History Centre, through technological innovation, will be an interactive meeting place where the voices of Canadians from all walks of life who created this country will be heard."

The Canada History Centre will be located in Ottawa's Government Conference Centre, the former Union Train Station and site of many constitutional discussions. The role of this institution will be to increase accessibility of all Canadians to their history. To this end, the Centre will organize travelling exhibitions across Canada and, through modern technologies, will reach people from coast to coast to coast.

"The Canada History Centre will focus on those who have contributed to the building of Canada and the flourishing of our democracy. It will become a showcase for achievements by Canadians. It will be a place to celebrate the important events in Canadian history," said Minister Copps. "Canadians want to know more about our country and our history. Today, through the creation of this Centre, the Government of Canada is taking a decisive step to respond to this need."

The Canada History Centre will have much more than a physical presence in the nation's capital. Multimedia and interactive components of the Centre will be accessible to Canadians from all regions of the country, and will encourage them to learn about and share Canada's history.

The Canada History Centre will rely on the resources of the Library and Archives of Canada, as well as museums and other cultural organizations to provide materials for its exhibits.

The Government of Canada will provide funding of approximately $50 million over five years towards the development of the museum components of the Canada History Centre.

Funding for the project was provided for in the February 2003 federal budget.

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Information:

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Sonya-Kim St-Julien
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
(819) 997-7788

This news release is also available on the Internet at http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room

BACKGROUNDER - THE CANADA HISTORY CENTRE

The Canada History Centre is being created to address a gap in the telling of our political and democratic history, which is often presented in a fragmented manner. The Centre will integrate knowledge of Canada's political and civic past and will better equip Canadians to know who we are as individuals and as citizens of a great country and to participate knowledgeably in the Canadian democratic process.

The Canada History Centre will draw on the collections of the Library and Archives of Canada as well as those of museums and other cultural organizations from across the country. Many of the items in these collections have never been viewed before by the public.

While physically located in Ottawa, the Canada History Centre will reach out to Canadians from coast to coast to coast through an ambitious national outreach program using the latest technological innovations as well as traveling exhibitions, research groups and forums for discussion.

The Canada History Centre will promote debate on Canada's history from diverse perspectives. It will focus on our leaders, statesmen and stateswomen and political processes and institutions as well as on grassroots organizations and people from all walks of life who have shaped Canada's distinct model of democracy and governance.

The Centre will use creative, interactive and dynamic activities to ignite a passion for Canada's history. It will provide an integrated knowledge base for those who seek to interpret Canada and its evolution as a modern, democratic country.

The Canada History Centre will promote a heightened awareness, increased understanding and greater appreciation of Canada and its citizens. The Centre will take a leadership role in bringing together the people and organizations that explore Canada's history and will use new technologies to reach out to every Canadian through interactive activities and the Internet.

The Canada History Centre will be located in the current Government Conference Centre at 2 Rideau Street, Ottawa, which has been the stage for many events of national significance, notably numerous constitutional conferences. Its architecture offers enormous possibilities for the development of such a state-of-the-art national cultural institution as the Canada History Centre.

The Government is spending approximately $50 million over the next five years for the development of the museum components of the Centre. Approximately $40 million in additional funding is required for long-overdue renovations to ensure this heritage building can be used as a public venue.

BACKGROUNDER - THE GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE CENTRE
A Classified Heritage Building

The Canada History Centre will be located in the building currently used as the Government Conference Centre on Rideau Street, at the crossroads of the nation's capital.

As the home for the Canada History Centre, the building will anchor the ribbon of national cultural institutions already in the region, reaching from the new Canadian War Museum on LeBreton Flats in the west, along both sides of the Ottawa River, to the Canada Aviation Museum in Rockcliffe Park in the east.

The Government Conference Centre was originally constructed as Ottawa Union Station between 1909 and 1912 to the designs of architects Ross and MacFarlane, based on original plans by architect Bradford Lee Gilbert. The building's design reflects the Beaux-Arts tradition, firmly established at the time as the favoured building type, although relatively unusual for Ottawa.

The building served as the central railway station for the City of Ottawa until the 1960s. With the removal of the railway lines from the city centre, the building became vacant and was eventually converted to a conference centre by the Government of Canada. As the Government Conference Centre, it has been the site of many political and cultural discussions and negotiations, including the repatriation of Canada's Constitution.

The former Union Station is part of the Confederation Square National Historic Site and is a Classified heritage structure as designated in accordance with the Treasury Board Heritage Buildings Policy. It is one of only 269 such structures across the country.

The Government is committed to ensuring the building undergo long-overdue renovations so it can be used as a public venue. Additional work will be required to bring the building up to appropriate, museum-quality environmental standards with special infrastructure included to support interactive technology required for exhibition purposes.

Because of its designation under the terms of the Treasury Board Heritage Buildings Policy as a building of architectural and historical significance, the protection of the spatial and physical qualities of the Government Conference Centre's heritage character will be considered. The interior will retain its principal Beaux-arts characteristics - the axial plan, hierarchical ordering of spaces and grand classical vocabulary - and will be returned to its original railway grandeur.

The majestic interior of the new facility will provide dramatic spaces for exhibitions and performance venues to enhance the telling of Canada's history.

BACKGROUNDER - SUPPORT TO FEDERAL MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS

The Government of Canada provides $286 million annually in support of the preservation and presentation of the national collections held in trust by the National Gallery of Canada (including the affiliate Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography), the Canadian Museum of Civilization (including the Canadian War Museum), the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Canada Science and Technology Museum (including the Canada Aviation Museum and the Canada Agriculture Museum), and the Library and Archives of Canada.

FUNDING AND SUPPORT TO THE MUSEUM COMMUNITY

The Government of Canada, through the Department of Canadian Heritage, also has a wide range of financial support programs for non-federal museums. Grants, bursaries, tax credits and other means of assistance and service help eligible organizations to encourage awareness and participation by Canadians and to develop the capacity to preserve and present their collections.

• The Museums Assistance Program supports the museum sector and provides funding of $9M per year for a variety of projects.
• The Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program eliminates insurance costs for certain travelling exhibitions.
• Capacity-building services are provided by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network, both of which conduct research and extensive training programs for the museum community.
• The Virtual Museum of Canada (virtualmuseum.ca), part of the Government's Canadian Culture On-line initiative, offers museums across the country the opportunity to showcase their collections and reach a worldwide audience.

Museums also benefit from a number of programs with broader mandates, totalling $103.4 million, which include:

• Cultural Spaces Canada
• Canada Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program
• Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions
• Canadian Culture On-line Program

RENEWAL OF POLICY

Following public and stakeholder consultations across the country, the Government of Canada is actively working to finalize a new Heritage Policy Framework.