For Immediate Release
June 16, 2009

HELPING THE PAST COME ALIVE

McGuinty Government Protects Ontario’s Heritage With New Archives Facility

A vast collection of photos, maps and documents – a record of Ontario’s rich heritage – has a new home at York University.

Now officially open, the new Archives of Ontario is in a state-of-the-art building designed to protect and preserve Ontario’s public and private archival records.  The environmentally friendly facility will also feature improved services for studying and interpreting the history, people and culture of Ontario.

The facility also offers a public exhibit gallery featuring historical documents, maps and photographs that go back hundreds of years.

QUOTES

“Ontarians deserve this fine facility to protect and promote our great history. Not only are we bringing the past alive today, we’re preserving it properly for generations to come.”
– Ted McMeekin, Minister of Government Services

“The collections held by the Archives of Ontario are a rich resource for the study of the history, culture and people of the province, in all their diversity. Our new facilities offer improved services for its customers, the people of Ontario.”
– Miriam McTiernan, Archivist of Ontario

QUICK FACTS

• There are 45,000 maps and almost 2 million photographs in the Archives’ collections.
• Placed end-to-end, the archives collection would stretch for over 60 miles.
• The facility meets the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) silver certification, a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

LEARN MORE

Backgrounder: Archives Of Ontario's New Facility
 
The Archives collections are a rich resource.

The new Archives facility is located at York University in Toronto.
 

Contact:

Greg Dennis, Minister’s Office, 416-327-3072
Ciaran Ganley, Communications Branch, 416-325-8659