Get Involved!
You have access to a wide variety of local, regional, provincial and national organizations that support heritage issues in Toronto! Here are just a few – discover how you can become involved in heritage questions in your community!

Parks Canada
Everything you want to know to start your discovery of Canada’s national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/

Historic Places Initiative
Find out more about Canada’s Historic Places, one of the most significant developments in heritage conservation in Canada's history. One key product available from HPI is the Standards and Guidelines for preserving heritage buildings, available on their website.
http://www.historicplaces.ca/

Preserving My Heritage
Find out how to care for and preserve your treasures or just learn about the fascinating heritage conservation work carried out by the Canadian Conservation Institute.
http://www.preservation.gc.ca/index_e.asp

City of Toronto – Doors Open Toronto
Toronto Culture is proud to present Doors Open Toronto - one weekend, once a year - when up to 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration. The program allows visitors free access to properties that are either not usually open to the public, or would normally charge an entrance fee. Many locations have organized guided tours, displays and activities to enrich the visitor experience. From heritage landmarks to modern structures, hidden gems, green roofs, places of worship, halls of learning, boardrooms, bedrooms, breweries, lighthouses, mansions, museums, theatres, national historic sites, centres of rail travel, cemeteries, factories, banking halls, architects' offices and more
www.toronto.ca/doorsopen/index.htm

City of Toronto – History
This website explores the history of Toronto as an 11,000 year journey. People have lived here since shortly after the last ice age, although the urban community only dates to 1793 when British colonial officials founded the 'Town of York' on what then was the Upper Canadian frontier. That backwoods village grew to become the 'City of Toronto' in 1834, and through its subsequent evolution and expansion Toronto has emerged as one of the most liveable and multicultural urban places in the world today.
www.toronto.ca/toronto_history/

City of Toronto - Heritage- Preservation Services
“Heritage Preservation Services plays an important role in preserving Toronto's heritage by advising City Council on matters relating to the Ontario Heritage Act and acting as a professional resource for the community and property owners on the conservation of the City's historic resources.” Programs from HPS include the Toronto Heritage Grant Program, the Inventory of Heritage Properties, and the Heritage Conservation Districts among others.
http://www.toronto.ca/heritage-preservation/

City of Toronto – Archives
Every generation lives in a different Toronto. Someone lived in your home before you-- who were they? What did a city street look like before cars and electric lights? What promises got a mayor elected in 1920? Did people really drink water straight from the lake? How did your community become part of the City of Toronto? Come explore the mysterious city that others lived in...at the City of Toronto Archives.
www.toronto.ca/archives/

Ontario Ministry of Culture – Heritage
To assist municipalities and the public in the task of identification and preservation the Ministry provides a variety of information about historic buildings and sites. Programs include a heritage toolkit, a heritage properties program and a heritage properties database.
http://www.culture.gov.on.ca/english/index.html

Ontario Heritage Properties Database
A searchable database containing information on over 5,000 heritage properties in Ontario.
http://www.culture.gov.on.ca/english/culdiv/heritage/hpd.htm

Ontario Heritage Trust
The Ontario Heritage Trust – the province's lead heritage agency – is dedicated to identifying, preserving, protecting and promoting Ontario's rich and varied heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/

Doors Open Ontario
Doors Open Ontario 2008 continues to bring together communities across Ontario. Throughout the province, there is a growing pride in our heritage. Communities boast of their commercial buildings, courthouses, places of worship, gardens, natural heritage and other heritage sites. From April to October each year, communities open the doors to some of our most intriguing and charming heritage sites. Admission is free. And the Ontario Heritage Trust – the province’s lead heritage agency – invites you to experience these hidden heritage treasures first-hand.
www.doorsopenontario.on.ca

Heritage Canada Foundation
The Heritage Canada Foundation “preserves, demonstrates, encourages the preservation and demonstration of the nationally significant historic, architectural, natural and scenic heritage of Canada with a view to stimulating and promoting the interest of the people of Canada in that heritage."
http://www.heritagecanada.org/eng/main.html

Heritage Toronto
Heritage Toronto’s primary focus can best be described as three fundamental functions for Toronto’s heritage community: advocacy, programming and fund raising. One of the most popular programs run by Heritage Toronto is the free walking tours covering virtually every area of the city.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/about/home.htm

Architectural Conservancy of Ontario
For over sixty years, The ACO has been working to find economically viable uses for Ontario's historical assets, ensuring that the distinctive buildings of our past do not become parking lots or building sites for characterless new development.
http://www.arconserv.ca/

Built Heritage News
Built Heritage News is an e-newsletter published by Catherine Nasmith Architect to provide information and communication for those interested in our built heritage, past and future. It is distributed free of charge every two weeks by email. Between issues material is posted regularly, both by the editor and by subscribers.
www.builtheritagenews.ca

Harbourfront Centre
Whether you're new to Toronto or have lived here all your life, this city is full of surprises. You'll travel through Toronto's neighbourhoods - and discover the history, stories and magic of the world just beyond your backyard.
http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com

Jane’s Walk
When author and activist Jane Jacobs died in 2006, many of her peers, colleagues, friends and admirers discussed how best to honour her ideas and legacy. They settled on the idea of “Jane’s Walk”, a series of free neighbourhood strolls that reinforce her idea of walkable, dense and diverse neighbourhoods as the hallmarks of a healthy city. These characteristics help knit people together into a strong and resourceful community. Moreover, Janes Walk gets citizens out connecting with and making their own observations about the city where they live.
http://www.janeswalk.net/

[murmur] Project
[murmur] is a documentary oral history project that records stories and memories told about specific geographic locations. We collect and make accessible people's personal histories and anecdotes about the places in their neighborhoods that are important to them. It's history from the ground up, told by the voices that are often overlooked when the stories of cities are told. We know about the skyscrapers, sports stadiums and landmarks, but [murmur] looks for the intimate, neighbourhood-level voices that tell the day-to-day stories that make up a city. The smallest, greyest or most nondescript building can be transformed by the stories that live in it. Once heard, these stories can change the way people think about that place and the city at large.
www.murmurtoronto.ca

Multicultural History Society of Ontario
The MHSO is a not-for-profit educational institution and heritage centre which envisions a cohesive Ontario in which citizens have an appreciation of our shared histories, access to the products of our diverse heritage and the tools to eradicate stereotyping and prejudice from our places of learning and work. We are committed to bringing to a wide public audience the positive aspects of living in a multi-ethnic province. The MHSO publicizes, preserves and makes accessible material which demonstrates the role of immigration and ethnicity in shaping the cultural and economic development of Toronto, Ontario and Canada.
http://www.mhso.ca/about.html

National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario
The National Historic Sites Alliance for Ontario promotes the commemorative integrity and value of national historic sites through co-operative action by site owners, managers and stakeholders.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/rickrichardson/national_historic_sites_alliance.htm

Ontario Black History Society
The OBHS is dedicated to the study, preservation and promotion of Black History and heritage. The Society aims to foster public interest and encourage the interest of Black history through a variety of activities.
http://www.blackhistorysociety.ca/

Ontario Historical Society
The OHS is a non-government group who brings together people of all ages, all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds interested in preserving some aspect of Ontario's history through discussion, by advising community groups, advocates and by sponsoring heritage-related programs. 
http://www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca/welcome.asp

Ontario Heritage Connection
The Ontario Heritage Connection connects visitors to timely information on heritage issues across Ontario by providing a "first stop" for anyone seeking information on Ontario's heritage by serving as a tool for the exchange of Ontario's heritage news, by building a network of links to Ontario's heritage websites, by raising public interest and awareness in Ontario's heritage, by promoting Ontario's heritage research and education and by encouraging partnerships for the exchange of news and information.
http://www.ontarioheritageconnection.org/

Ontario Urban Forest Council
The Ontario Urban Forest Council (OUFC) is a non-profit group that works to advance the conservation and maintenance of urban forests across Ontario. We also provide technical support for groups addressing urban forestry issues and offer various workshops on a wide range of topics. We work in partnership with all sectors, bringing together professionals, academics, industry, government and the general public in a multi- stakeholder approach to urban forest conservation.
http://www.oufc.org/

Royal Ontario Museum
ROMwalk provides guided walking tours through Toronto neighbourhoods of architectural and historic interest to the public.
http://www.rom.on.ca/programs/rom_travel/index.php

Spacing Toronto
Spacing Toronto is your hub for daily dispatches from the streets of Toronto to cities around the world, offering both analysis and a forum for discussion. Our contributors examine city hall, architecture, urban planning, public transit, transportation infrastructure and just about anything that involves the public realm of our cities. Spacing is an award-winning magazine dedicated to presenting compelling journalism that focuses on the joys, obstacles, and politics of Toronto’s urban landscape.
www.spacing.ca

Toronto History
Learn a little of Toronto's history as told through its plaques
www.torontohistory.org

West Toronto Junction Historical Society
The West Toronto Junction Historical Society is a non-profit, charitable, volunteer organization. As a member of the West Toronto Junction Historical Society, you will recieve a quarterly newsletter, be invited to eight meetings per year, be able to participate in walking tours, learn about local history, and get involved in local planning issues.
www.wtjhs.ca