Provincial and territorial museums of Canada

Provincial and territorial museums of Canada are museums maintained by the provinces and territories of Canada to preserve their local history and culture. However, the collections of some museums extend beyond its provincial boundaries, showcasing historical and natural works from around the world. These museums are the equivalent to national museums, operated by the provincial and territorial governments of Canada. In the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, the provincial government uses the term "national" to refer to provincial museums.

Many provinces have separate facilities for human and natural history museums, art galleries, and archives. However, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador, all these functions are housed in one complex, The Rooms, in St. John's.

List of provincial and territorial history museums

Nearly all Canadian provinces and territories operate a provincial museum of some kind, the majority being either encyclopedic museums that cover a wider variety of topics including science and nature, or history museums, that focus on human events. The only province that does not operate a provincial museum is Prince Edward Island. The following table lists the provincial and territorial museums presently operating in Canada.

Name Photo City Province Year established Visitors annually Description
Manitoba Museum Winnipeg  Manitoba 1965 303,191 (2017)[1] A museum of human and natural history.
Musée de la civilisation Quebec City  Quebec 1984 543,128 (2005) A museum of human history.
New Brunswick Museum Saint John  New Brunswick 1842 32,584 (2017)[2] A museum of human and natural history, it is the oldest continuously operating museum in Canada.
Nova Scotia Museum Multiple sites  Nova Scotia 1868[note 1] 549,500 (2015)[note 2][3] The museum is a decentralized museum system made up of 28 museums spread throughout the province.
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre Yellowknife  Northwest Territories 1979 A museum of human and natural history, it also houses the territorial government's archives.
Royal Alberta Museum Edmonton  Alberta 1967 A museum of human and natural history.
Royal British Columbia Museum Victoria  British Columbia 1886 770,000 (2017)[4] A museum of human and natural history, it also houses the provincial archives, after merging with British Columbia Archives in 2003.
Royal Ontario Museum Toronto  Ontario 1912 1,440,000 (2017)[5] A museum of art, human and natural history, it is the largest, and most visited museum in Canada.
Royal Saskatchewan Museum Regina  Saskatchewan 1906 139,122 (2017)[6] A museum of natural history.
The Rooms St. John's  Newfoundland and Labrador 2005 87,083 (2017)[7][note 3] A museum of human and natural history, the museum shares a building with the provincial archives and art gallery.

List of provincial and territorial art galleries

Several Canadian provinces and territories operate art galleries. The following table lists the provincial and territorial art galleries presently operating in Canada.

Although it receives public money, the Art Gallery of Alberta is not a provincially-operated institution, but is run by a not-for-profit society, and has been excluded from this table.

Name Photo City Province Year established Visitors annually Description
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax  Nova Scotia 1908 45,455 (2017)[8] The largest art gallery in Atlantic Canada, its collection includes classical portraits, Nova Scotia folk art, and Inuit stone carvings.
Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto  Ontario 1900 974,736 (2018)[9] The art gallery is the largest provincially-managed art gallery in the country. Its collection includes 98,000 works ranging from the first century to present day, as well as the largest collection of Canadian art.
Beaverbrook Art Gallery Fredericton  New Brunswick 1959 10,333 (2016)[10] Designated as a provincial art gallery by Government of New Brunswick, the gallery was originally funded by Baron Beaverbrook.
McMichael Canadian Art Collection Kleinburg  Ontario 1965 Originally the private collection of Robert and Signe McMichael, which was donated to the provincial government in 1965 and opened to the public in 1966. The collection primarily consists of works by the Group of Seven and artists associated with them, but has expanded to include other Canadian artists as well as Indigenous artists.
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Quebec City  Quebec 1933 387,333 (2018)[11] Its collection includes approximately 40,000 works produced in Quebec, or by Quebec artists since the 18th century.
Remai Modern Saskatoon  Saskatchewan 2009 A museum of modern art, although its collections also includes works created before that period. The museum is formally incorporated as the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, although it is branded as Remai Modern.
The Rooms St. John's  Newfoundland and Labrador 2005 87,083 (2017)[7][note 3] The provincial art gallery shares a building with the province's provincial archives, and museum.
Yukon Arts Centre Whitehorse  Yukon 1992 In addition to a permanent collection of Indigenous and northern art the facility serves as an arts centre.

List of provincial and territorial archives and libraries

Nearly all Canadian provinces operate a provincial archive and libraries. The British Columbia Archives was a former provincial agency that managed the archives for the province of British Columbia. In 2003, the provincial government merged the British Columbia Archives with the Royal British Columbia Museum, while the record management component of the former agency was assumed by the British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services.[12] Since 2003, the Royal British Columbia Museum maintains the provincial archives as a department of the museum.[13]

The following table lists the nine provincial archives and libraries presently operating in Canada.

Name Photo City Province Year established
Archives of Manitoba Winnipeg  Manitoba 1971
Archives of Ontario Toronto  Ontario 1903
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Montreal[note 4]  Quebec 1920
Nova Scotia Archives Halifax  Nova Scotia 1857
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre Yellowknife  Northwest Territories 1979
Provincial Archives of Alberta Edmonton  Alberta 1967
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick Fredericton  New Brunswick 1967
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan Regina[note 5]  Saskatchewan 1945
Public Archives and Records Office Charlottetown  Prince Edward Island
The Rooms St. John's  Newfoundland and Labrador 2005

List of other provincial and territorial museums

Some provinces and territories operate additional museums that serve specialized topics.

Name Photo City Province Year established Visitors annually Description
Ontario Science Centre Toronto  Ontario 1969 900,225 (2019)[14] Interactive science centre museum for Southern Ontario.
Science North Sudbury  Ontario 1984 Interactive science centre for Northern Ontario. Also operates Dynamic Earth (founded 2003), an interactive geology and mining museum which is the site of the Big Nickel.
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology Drumheller  Alberta 1985 470,000 (2016–17)[15] Paleontology museum and research centre.

See also

Notes
  1. Although the Nova Scotia Museum was established in 1868, the decentralized museum includes institutions that were established earlier, such as the Halifax Mechanics Institute in 1831.
  2. The following is the total attendance figure from all 28 Nova Scotia Museum locations.
  3. Attendance for The Rooms is for the entire facility, and not for individual departments of The Rooms, which includes its archives, and museums.
  4. The provincial archives of Quebec operates 10 facilities spread throughout the province of Quebec. However, the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal is its flagship library.
  5. In addition to its Regina location, the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan operates a regional office in Saskatoon.

References
  1. "Annual Report". The Manitoba Museum. 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. "2017 Tourism Indicators" (PDF). New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture. 2018. p. 4. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  3. "Nova Scotia Museum Attendance (by region) 2006–2015" (PDF). Nova Scotia Museums. 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  4. "Goals, Strategies, Measures and Targets" (PDF). Royal BC Museum 2016/17 Annual Service Plan Report. Royal British Columbia Museum. 2017. p. 9. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  5. "The Royal Ontario Museum Draws Highest Attendance Numbers in its History". Royal Ontario Museum. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. "Royal Saskatchewan Museum Director Report" (PDF). Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum Inc.: 2016-2017 Annual Report. Royal Saskatchewan Museum. 2017. p. 5. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  7. "A message from the Chiar of the Board of Directors" (PDF). The Rooms Annual Report 2016–2017. Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation. 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  8. "Performance Scorecard 2016-2017" (PDF). Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Annual Accountability Report for the Fiscal Year 2016-2017. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. 2017. p. 10. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. "Exhibition and museum visitor figures 2018". The Art Newspaper. 311: xv. April 2019.
  10. "Gallery Attendance" (PDF). Beaverbrook Art Gallery Annual Report 2016. Beaverbrook Art Gallery. 2016. p. 26. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  11. "Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec: Rapport annuel 2018 -2019" (in French). Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. 31 March 2019. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  12. "History of the British Columbia Archives" (PDF). Royal British Columbia Museum. June 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  13. "David Alexander: Head of Archives, Access and Digital". Royal British Columbia Museum. 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  14. "Performance Target Discussions" (PDF). Annual Report 2017–2018. Ontario Science Centre. 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  15. "Standing Committee on Public Accounts" (PDF). docs.assembly.ab.ca. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 13 March 2018. p. 646. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
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