Arts, Libraries and Museums

The federal government’s National Museum Policy of 1972 provides subsidies to regional and local museums and has encouraged and supported the growth of museums throughout the country. Canada has more than 2,100 museums, archives, and historic sites, the most important of which are in the national capital region. These include the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, which celebrates Canada’s multicultural heritage; and, in Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly the National Museum of Natural Sciences), the National Museum of Science and Technology, and the National Gallery of Canada. The last exhibits European art, a growing collection of Asian art, and a large body of work by Canadians.

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has collections of art, life and earth sciences, and materials typical of Canadian culture. Among more-specialized museums are Upper Canada Village, a restoration of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in Morrisburg, Ontario; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan; and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, which contains important displays of indigenous artifacts.

The National Library of Canada, in Ottawa, issues the national bibliography and maintains union catalogs of the collections of more than 300 other libraries. Its holdings, including a comprehensive collection of Canadian newspapers, exceed 14.5 million items. The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, also in Ottawa, is the center for the dissemination of scientific and technical data. Provinces and cities have their own libraries. Particularly outstanding university libraries are those of the universities of Toronto, British Columbia, and Montreal.