Learn about the architectural and historical significance of designated heritage properties using the Ontario Heritage Act. Many designation bylaws provide details about heritage attributes — including architectural features of heritage buildings, as well as the noteworthy people and events associated with them.
Find unusual property designations, such as dry stone walls, trees, air-raid shelters, etc.
Identify provincewide or municipal trends in heritage protection (e.g., How many post-1950 buildings are designated in Ontario? Is my municipality actively designating properties?).
Locate examples of OHA documents that reflect best practices for heritage description, evaluation and protection. These can be used to assist with heritage policy development and the preparation of designation bylaws and other legal documents.
Investigate the heritage designation status of a property in Ontario by accessing electronic copies of statutory documents enacted under the OHA.
Determine what heritage attributes of designated properties are protected.
The Ontario Heritage Trust is not the author of the documents contained in the Register. The vast majority are drafted by municipal staff, with input from lawyers, municipal heritage committees and consultants. The municipal documents are the decisions of council. These documents are served on the Trust, scanned and uploaded to the OHA Register. Pertinent information is entered into a searchable database. If you notice a transcription error (the data is different than what is in the document) or have questions about a specific property, use the “Comments” form in each record.
It is not the role of the Trust to assess or fact-check the information in the document once it’s been passed by council. It is recommended that you contact the Provincial Heritage Registrar when drafting documents if you have any process questions.
The OHA Register is a work in progress. The Trust is currently uploading documents associated with individual property designations onto the website. The next phase of work will include uploading municipal addresses of properties located in Heritage Conservation Districts. Please contact the Provincial Heritage Registrar if you have any questions.
You will notice that some bylaws have text blacked out. This is personal information that has been redacted and removed from the document. The Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA) states that third-party organizations (i.e., the Trust) are not permitted to release any third-party personal information. Copies of unredacted documents may be available in the municipal clerk’s office or, in some cases, the land registry office.
Scanned bylaws often include annotations, such as handwritten notes. These annotations might be correcting important statutory information such as the bylaw number or legal description. Most often they are administrative notes — e.g., directing the paperwork to a staff person.
Some statutory documents are over 40 years old and the quality of the document that was scanned may be poor and difficult to read.
Information from the statutory documents that has been entered into the data fields has been copied as is. This includes grammatical errors.
In many instances, bylaws do not contain a municipal address. They only contain a Lot and Concession number, which has been included in the address field.
Architectural style is not a searchable data field as it is too subjective. In addition, many architectural styles may be evident on a single property. Use the construction dates to refine search results.
The date a bylaw is passed by council (to designate, to amend or to repeal) is the enacted date.
In a Notice of Intention, several dates are often included: date passed by council, date of first, second and third notice, and a date from the clerk’s office. The most consistent date received by the Trust is the date from the clerk’s office. This is the date that the Trust tries to use consistently in the database.
