Our vision

An Ontario where we conserve, value and share the places and landscapes, histories, traditions and stories that embody our heritage, now and for future generations.

Our mission

  • Demonstrate excellence in the conservation and stewardship of places and landscapes, objects, traditions and stories
  • Expand the narrative, spark new conversations, give voice to the diversity of Ontario’s people and places
  • Share knowledge and expertise, and foster an understanding of our histories and heritage in everyday life
  • Build mutually rewarding relationships with new and current partners

Our values

  • Integrated approach to conservation
  • Respect and inclusion
  • Inspiration and innovation
  • Co-operation and collaboration
  • Public good

Integrated approach to conservation

  • Integrated approach to conservation and stewardship of cultural, natural, tangible and intangible heritage
  • The centrality of heritage conservation in the effective stewardship of the environment and in the creation of sustainable and resilient communities
  • Landscapes of memory, storytelling, tradition and language as irreplaceable heritage resources of cultural significance

Respect and inclusion

  • Inclusive, multifaceted representations of the province’s heritage that reflect our diversity and complexity
  • The discovery, knowledge and insight, generated by cultural heritage, which fosters cultural affiliation and reconciliation, and enables us to understand ourselves better

Inspiration and innovation

  • The potential of heritage to inspire, stimulate creativity, and motivate us to bequeath knowledge, narratives and histories, and a diverse and authentic cultural environment for future generations

Co-operation and collaboration

  • Mutually rewarding relationships with new and current partner organizations
  • Create partnerships to build and enhance conservation capacity in communities

Public good

  • Holistic, sustainable planning that serves the public good and establishes a sense of place, civic identity and permanence
  • Empowering partners and individuals to be conservation leaders in their own communities