Disponible en français: https://heritageadvocacy.ca/sommaire-des-coupes-summary-of-cuts/
FEDERAL
Comprehensive expenditure review
“This annex provides details on the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER) savings announced in Budget 2025 and described in Chapter 5, by organisation.”
Click here: Comprehensive expenditure review 2025
See more here: A spending review without a clear view
Library and Archives Canada
Currently, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) receive $208 million from the federal government. It will see a permanent annual cut of $22.1 million, which means spending cuts of nearly $50 million over the next three years.
- The federal government’s Access to Information and Privacy program, administered by LAC, is being cut by $13.6 million. LAC has already eliminated 53 positions from this program. Update: LAC has been allocated $81.9M over four years, beginning in 2027–2028, along with $22.4M in ongoing annual funding to stabilize its Access to Information and Privacy functions and to continue Proactive Access Block Review activities. While this ongoing funding does not reverse the previously announced reductions to ATIP and Proactive Access, it ensures that LAC can maintain the service improvements already achieved and continue meeting the objectives of the ATIP Action Plan.
- Library and Archives Canada will eliminate 152 employee positions and 9 executive positions. 70 indeterminate positions were eliminated in 2025 prior to the announcement of the most recent budget cuts.
See more here: Library and Archives Canada 2024-2025 Departmental Plan
See more here: Canada’s archives are in trouble and so is its history
See more here: Broken records
See more here: A disaster for access
See more here: Charlotte Gray on Canada’s national archives
See more here: Fixing Library and Archives Canada
Department of Canadian Heritage
The federal Department of Canadian Heritage has been cut by $361,794,939 or 16.3%. The government said, “To meet up to 15 per cent in savings targets over three years, the Department of Canadian Heritage will refocus its cultural programming to meet the evolving needs of recipients and ensure program effectiveness.” This department has a total national budget of $2.1 billion. At the end of four years, it will sustain a permanent annual cut of $93.1 million.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada
Cuts have been made to the budget of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. More details to follow.
Canadian Museums
“The Canadian Museums Association has issued a letter to the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, expressing grave concerns regarding the 2026 Federal Budget.
“The federal budget has abandoned Canada’s museums. Budget 2025 delivers virtually nothing no cohesive vision for Canada’s 2,700 museums – institutions present in every riding that preserve heritage, educate communities, drive tourism, and employ over 32,000 Canadians.”
The letter outlines the numerous ways the government has failed to acknowledge the importance of investing in museums, and our national heritage infrastructure with particular concern for the following:
No resources for Indigenous-led cultural heritage rights or repatriation. This ongoing inaction undermines Canada’s obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Zero increase to the Museums Assistance Program (frozen at $6.7M since 2013).
No permanent heritage youth employment funding, only a token 2% increase to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) that fails to keep pace with rising employment costs and provides no expansion of heritage youth positions.
Up to 15% cuts to the Department of Canadian Heritage.Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, which served as an important infrastructure investment, has been gutted to equipment-only purchases.“
See more here: Budget 2025 — Museums Left Behind While Government Celebrates Token Tourism Measures
Canadian Museum of History/ Canadian War Museum
The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum are cutting permanent staff levels by 18% over the next three years. Currently, these institutions receive $78 million but at the end of four years, there will be a permanent annual cut of $5.1 million. This has resulted so far in a loss of 67 positions.
Canadian Museum of Human Rights
The Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg has cut 7 positions, as a part of the most recent budget cuts. It will see its budget reduced over $3.2 million over the next three years.
Parks Canada
Parks Canada, which includes responsibility for many national museums across Canada, “will maximize efficiencies while continuing to deliver services to Canadians by refocusing its organizational structure and business unit functions to avoid duplication of work, as well as ceasing or reducing lower priority activities, such as library services,” according to the budget.
These cuts include the removal of the Register of Historic Places in Spring 2026, and the closure of the Parks Canada Library in Cornwall, Ontario. Individual parks and National Historic Sites will also see an impact, with some facilities being closed to visitors, such as the interpretation centre at the Battle of the Châteauguay National Historic Site.
There was a report on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. See more here: National Trust Canada
The Register of Historic Places included 13,000 heritage sites recognized by various levels of government.
According to Myriam Linteau, Director, Cultural Heritage Programs Parks Canada, information in the CRHP will not be lost, and discussions with provinces and territories on the planned end of serviceable functioning of the CRHP and the retrieval of the data and photos, as well as possible paths forward to ensure the information remains available to Canadians, are taking place via the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Culture and Heritage. Parks Canada is also communicating with key public institutions mandated to archive data to determine the feasibility of permanently archiving a copy of the CRHP.
Parks Canada is also collaborating with the National Trust for Canada, which has launched, in late February, a study to analyze options for a renewed national online directory to document historic sites across the country. The results of this work should be known later this year.
In the meantime, Parks Canada is committed to providing leadership in preserving and presenting heritage information. Important resources that were hosted on HistoricPlaces.ca will be reposted on Parks Canada web pages. For instance, the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada will remain available as a key reference document for heritage practitioners. Parks.Canada.ca will also be updated to provide users with easy reference to provincial and territorial heritage registers and databases.
Furthermore, Parks Canada will continue to make information for all federal heritage designations available through the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Posing similar risks associated with technological end of life, the current Directory of Federal Heritage Designations is being renewed. In the coming months, it will relaunch on a new platform with enhanced capabilities designed to meet the interests of the heritage community, and Parks Canada hopes it may stand as an example of what can be done to engage a new generation of conservationists.
The closure and decommissioning of the Parks Canada Library in Cornwall, Ontario will result in savings of $300,000. It is unclear as to what will happen with the collection. While it is hoped it is hoped that the holdings themselves can be saved and donated to LAC, it is unclear if LAC would have the resources to handle such a donation considering the cuts made to its budget.
Correctional Services Canada
Correctional Services Canada will be eliminating all prison librarians at federal prisons. This will save between $1.5 million and $2.5 million annually.
Department of Public Safety
The Department of Public Safety will be eliminating its Public Safety Library. No financial details were provided in the budget to clarify specific costs or savings.
Statistics Canada
Cuts at Statistics Canada. More information to follow.
Cuts to museums
No resources for Indigenous-led cultural heritage rights or repatriation. This ongoing inaction undermines Canada’s obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Zero increase to the Museums Assistance Program (frozen at $6.7M since 2013).
No permanent heritage youth employment funding, only a token 2% increase to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) that fails to keep pace with rising employment costs and provides no expansion of heritage youth positions.
Up to 15% cuts to the Department of Canadian Heritage.Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, which served as an important infrastructure investment, has been gutted to equipment-only purchases.
See more here: Canadian Museum Association
Cuts to Festivals
Festivals in the Ottawa area have faced funding cuts. The Tulip Festival, for example, had its budget cut in half from $400k to $200k this year. This led them to cancel activities such as fireworks.
See more here: Funding cuts raise concerns
Cuts to public science
“Canada is actively undermining the very institutions responsible for protecting people, monitoring risks, and producing public-interest evidence.” More here: Canada is cutting public science
PROVINCIAL
ONTARIO
County of Dufferin Archives (ON)
The county is considering three options in regards to the Museum of Dufferin and the County of Dufferin Archives: Cutting the archives program, dissolving the museum, eliminating the programming and outreach coordinator positions. There is no information what would happen to the 48,000 artifacts and archival records when the institutions and its staff are eliminated.
See more here: Association of Canadian Archivists
MUNICIPAL: Halton Region Heritage Services (ON)
Halton Region Heritage Services closed all its public facing services in December 2025, and made plans to de-accession its entire collection, which was a part of what was once the Halton Museum. The museum closed in 2014 and its collection turned into a resource centre, with travelling exhibitions, partnerships with other local institutions, and reference services.
The $8M set aside for the construction of a new centre was cancelled. There will be an auction to sell off its 30,000 artifacts.
See more here: Halton Heritage Services
See more here: CBC News
See more here: Halton Hills Today
MUNICIPAL: Toronto District School Board Museum and Archives
On May 14, 2026 the Toronto District School Board announced a number of cuts to its budget which includes the closure of the TDSB Museum and Archives. The Museum and Archives, located at 16 Phin Avenue, has a good museum collection and programs geared to the curriculum, an impressive art collection, and an archive which includes old report cards, school records, and records from the Home and School Association.
The closure was a part of a larger cut in programming which would see the loss of 218 jobs. There was no information provided which addressed the status of the collections. If they are being kept there will have to be some provisions for conservation. If not, there will have to be some planning to ensure that the collections are preserved somewhere.
See more here: TDSB cuts
See more here: CTV News TDSB Cuts
MUNICIPAL: Catholic school librarians
Provincial changes to trustee powers means likely cuts to school librarian positions.
See more here: Catholic trustees stick to guns in budget battle to save librarian jobs
The Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management Program at Fleming College has been cut for the Fall 2026 intake. It is one of 13 more programs that Fleming College has chosen to cut as part of their ongoing ‘cost-saving’ measures. UPDATE: According to the College administration: “the deferral applies only to the Fall 2026 intake. The program remains planned for Fall 2027 and is not cut. We remain hopeful that the Fall 2027 intake will be viable and will monitor application levels closely as planning progresses.”
NOVA SCOTIA
The Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage said “To protect that work for future generations, we’re taking steps to modernize the Nova Scotia Museum system,” this means the closure of over half of its museums.
- Fisherman’s Life Museum, Oyster Pond
- Prescott House Museum, Starrs Point
- Sutherland Steam Mill Museum, Tatamagouche
- Lawrence House, Maitland
- Prescott House, Starrs Point
- Ross-Thomson House, Shelburne
- Shand House, Windsor
- Barrington Woolen Mill, Barrington Passage
- Wile Carding Mill, Bridgewater
- North Hills Museum, Granville Ferry
- Cossit House, Sydney
A reprieve was announced in late April, where some institutions could receive funding from an existing funding program. The budget for that program however has not been increased to reflect the higher demand.
- McCulloch House Museum and Genealogy Centre, Pictou
- Perkins House Museum, Liverpool
See more here: CBC News
Visitor Information Centres closed: Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Peggy’s Cove, Port Hastings and Yarmouth. Amherst’s centre will now open in the summer.
See more here: CBC News
See more here: Museum Nova Scotia
See more here: Halifax Examiner
Provincial Archives Development Program: This is the only source of dedicated funding for local archives in Nova Scotia.
See more here: Council of NS Archives
Nova Scotia is closing five libraries. See more here: Library closures reshape access in rural Nova Scotia
ALBERTA
The provincial government has cut over $134,000 of funding to historical and genealogical societies. This includes its grant to the Alberta Genealogical Society of $29,000 and its funding to the of the 119 year old Historical Society of Alberta – $76,000
See more here: Edmonton Journal
See more here: CBC News
QUEBEC
International Association of Quebec Studies (QC)
The International Association of Quebec Studies (AIEQ) is an institution which assists the research on Quebec in institutions outside of Quebec. Founded 30 years ago, the association assists universities and academics who study Quebec, to participate and organize events. The AIEQ contributes in the study and understand of Quebec at an international level. The Quebec government has cut its annual contribution of $150,000 in half. It is possible that these cuts will force the closure of the association.
Quebec will lose an important network of about fifteen Quebec studies institutions in France, the US, Great Britain, Irland, Belgium, Korea, Japan, Italie, etc.
See more: La Presse
See more: Newswire
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Victoria’s Point Ellice House
The closure of this historic site is the result of the failure of the provincial government to ensure long-term funding. More here: Closing Point Ellice House
General commentary
Here are links to general commentary pertaining to funding cuts to cultural heritage: