The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario

2024 Governors’ Awards

National Trust for Canada’s Board of Governors has chosen to recognize the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario with a Governors’ Award for their work towards amending the Ontario Heritage Act. 

Legislation aimed at paving the way to build more homes faster, which was passed in 2022, created for the first time a limit on how long a property could be “listed” under the Ontario Heritage Act. Listing is a way to signal that a property may warrant designation under the act and merits interim protection and further study.  

When the act came into force on January 1, 2023, municipalities had only two years to sort through the 36,000 listed heritage properties in over 100 municipalities across the province.  Surveys undertaken by ACO and Community Heritage Ontario found that no municipality believed it could write and pass all the needed by-laws by the end of 2024. 

The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario mounted a successful campaign to extend the deadline.  Through meetings with members of the provincial legislature and engagement with municipal governments, it succeeded in persuading the province to introduce and pass amending legislation that extended the deadline by two years. 

The amendments provide municipalities with additional time and clearer guidelines for managing heritage properties, ensuring more thoughtful outcomes for historic places across the province. 

For this exemplary work to change the system in the face of crisis, the National Trust for Canada’s Board of Governors has chosen to recognize the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario with a Governors’ Award.