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A digital archive of Canada’s history is set to disappear this spring as Parks Canada moves to deactivate its Canadian Register of Historic Places website.
The announcement has caused alarm in heritage circles across the country and in Nova Scotia in particular.
Launched in 2004, the register is a national searchable database of historic places recognized by federal, provincial, territorial and local governments. It contains about 13,500 listings.
When launched, the site described listings as “places that shape our lives, describe our history, and represent the diverse character of our country.”
In a statement, the National Trust for Canada said Parks Canada told provincial and territorial partners in December 2025 that the register “would be taken down in spring 2026.”
It said the reason given by Parks Canada was that the database had become technologically obsolete with security vulnerabilities and outdated coding.
In Nova Scotia, where the province does not maintain its own public online heritage database, the planned shuttering is causing particular concern.
Emma Lang, executive director of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, called the website’s importance “incalculable.”
Although the site has not had a major update in 15 years, it has remained an invaluable resource, she said.
“It’s used by everyone from genealogists to Realtors to architects and engineers to heritage professionals, ranging from museum staff to Parks Canada staff to heritage planners … as well as students and academics,” Lang said.
“We don’t have any alternative for looking up sites that are registered across the province.”
Lang said the site is unique in gathering federal, provincial, territorial and municipal designations in one location.
She said without the site, researchers will have to consult multiple sources to obtain the same information.
While acknowledging Parks Canada’s concerns that the site is old and presents security issues, Lang said the solution should not be removal.
“No one thinks that we should have insecure government websites,” she said. “But this site … is so vital to us.“
Lang said she’s heard from Parks Canada that a replacement website would only include federally registered properties which are a minority of the listings on the old site.
In response to the closure, a scramble is underway to preserve data.
Lang confirmed the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia is working with the province to save all Nova Scotia records from the site.
“We are making sure that every single image, all of the text is retained so that we don’t lose it all forever,” she said.
She added they hope to have a mechanism for public access in the coming months.
The National Trust for Canada stated that downloads of listings are being provided to jurisdictions, but these do not include images.
The national trust said it has written to ministers asking them to ensure comprehensive information about Canada’s historic places remains accessible to the public.
A statement from Nova Scotia’s Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage said they are in the process of obtaining website data from Parks Canada.
“We’re also talking with municipalities and the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia about opportunities to showcase our province’s heritage sites online,” it said.
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