Speaking Notes for the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages on the occasion of the announcement of the Canadian Museum of History
Gatineau, Quebec
October 16, 2012
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Cabinet and Parliamentary colleagues, members of the Board of Trustees of this museum, distinguished guests,
Thank you for joining me today.
We are gathered today in the Grand Hall of one of the great spaces in all of Canada. We are here for an announcement that will have great significance for the future and for Canada’s heritage.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is an institution with a remarkable history to be proud of. It is a history that traces all the way back to 1856 when it was then the Geological Survey of Canada.
In 1968, its mandate shifted and its name changed to the Museum of Man. In 1986, it was renamed to the Museum of Civilization, and it was moved to its new home here on the banks of the Ottawa River a couple of years later.
This museum is Canada’s largest museum—both in size at over one million square feet and in terms of visitors with over 1.3 million visitors just last year.
As you all know, this year marks the beginning of the five-year countdown to Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.
The road to Canada’s 150th birthday offers us an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate our history and the achievements that define who we are as Canadians.
2012 has already been an eventful year for Canada. This year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Coast Guard, the 40th anniversary of Paul Henderson’s goal in the ’72 Summit Series, the 100th Grey Cup, the 100th Calgary Stampede, and the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.
Next year, we will recognize the 100th anniversary of Canada’s first Arctic Expedition.
In 2014, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Sir George Étienne Cartier’s birth, the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences, and the 100th anniversary of World War I.
In 2015, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag and the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth.
And, in 2016, the 175th anniversary of Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s birth, the 175th anniversary of the union of Upper and Lower Canada, and the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Canada. All leading, of course, to Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.
These anniversaries connect us. They define who we are as Canadians. They define our history—Canada’s history.
Canada needs a national institution that tells Canada’s story. Canada needs an institution that explores and explains our collective history.
Canada needs a national institution that celebrates our achievements and what we have accomplished together as Canadians. Our children need to know more about Canada’s past.
That is why I’m very pleased to be here today on behalf of Prime Minister Harper to announce that the Government of Canada is going to create the Canadian Museum of History.
The Canadian Museum of History—le Musée canadien de l’histoire—will be here in what is now the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
This museum will have a new name, a new mandate and the funding to make it all a success.
Beginning shortly, the museum will renovate over 50,000 square feet of public space—roughly half of its permanent and temporary galleries.
The areas of the museum that will remain the same are the very popular Canadian Children’s Museum, the iconic First People’s Hall, the IMAX Theatre, and the Grand Hall.
And—to demonstrate our commitment to this project and to making it a success—this announcement comes with serious funding: a $25 million one-time investment that will allow the museum to make all of this happen.
In the next few weeks, we will introduce a bill in Parliament to formalize the museum’s new name and new mandate—a mandate that will be firmly rooted in Canada’s history.
More than a name, mandate and exhibit change, we want this national museum to truly reach across all of Canada and connect Canada’s museums and historic places.
Part of this funding will be used to create partnerships between the new Canadian Museum of History and museums across Canada that have similar mandates on a local level.
These local museums will have the opportunity to become official partners of this new national museum. This will allow for the telling of stories across Canada, the sharing of collections across Canada, and the telling of local Canadian stories to all new audiences all across Canada.
Local museums that partner with this new museum will have access to some of the more than 3.5 million items in this museum’s holdings—the majority of which, by the way, are not on display because of lack of space. And local museums will be able to work with the national museum to share their collections with other museums around the country. This will allow us to tell all of Canada’s stories to all of Canada.
Because this museum’s focus is on Canada’s history, it has to tell our story in a meaningful way that reflects the Canadian experience. Which is why the museum will hold a series of pan‑Canadian consultations this year about what should be on display here in the Canadian Museum of History. We want all Canadians to have the opportunity to be involved in this project and contribute to its development.
The museum will undertake consultations with Canadians across the country about the kind of presence they would like to see in this national museum and in their communities across the country.
And, by the time we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, Canadians will have a new museum that highlights the national achievements and accomplishments that have shaped our great country.
We have some amazing examples on display here today that tell such stories.
The silver last spike that was driven into the ground just outside of Kamloops to mark the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 that brought my home province of British Columbia into Canada’s confederation.
Over here we have Samuel de Champlain’s astrolabe—the same one he may have used to help him draw the first accurate map of what was to become Canada.
And we also have Terry Fox’s van from his iconic Marathon of Hope. Terry Fox was one of the greatest Canadians. And we’re very pleased to have the support of the Terry Fox family for this museum and this initiative.
These are all iconic objects that tell stories about who we are as Canadians. They represent a past that inspires us still as we build our future together.
In closing, I want to thank the Board of Directors of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the incredible staff that has done so much work to make this project a success, and its president, Mark O’Neill, for enthusiastically agreeing to build this new institution.
And I would also like to thank all those who are here today to lend their support to this important project. In particular, I want to single out Mr. Douglas Cardinal, who is the original architect of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
He is here with us today, and I would like it if everyone would give him a round of applause for his great contributions.
It was your great brilliance that helped build this institution, and I greatly appreciate your support for the next chapter of this institution’s growth as we move forward together. So thank you for being here.
I also want to thank all the Canadian historians who are here: Michael Bliss, Réal Bélanger, Charlotte Gray, Anne Trépanier, Norm Christie, Yves Frenette and Bob Plamondon.
And also Richard Gwyn and Jack Granatstein who couldn’t be here today but are lending their support to this institution and its mission.
And also Deborah Morrison of the Canadian National History Society. Michel Perron and Pierre Landry of the Société des musées québécois.
Thank you for joining us today and for lending your support to this project.
John McAvity of the Canadian Museums Association. Jane Fullerton and John Irving of the New Brunswick Museum. Suzanne Sauvage of the McCord Museum in Montréal. Brian Lee Crowley of the Macdonald Laurier Institution. Allison Falconer of the Historica–Dominion Institute. Paul Davidson of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and many more of you who are here to lend your support for this very important project.
All of us understand that Canada’s history is indeed alive and well. It is all around us. We have stories to tell and they need to be told.
It’s an important thing for us to take this opportunity to champion the brilliance and the diversity and the remarkable fact of Canada’s past. It needs to be championed. It needs to be celebrated.
And that’s what the Canadian Museum of History will indeed be all about: Canada’s past, honouring our past, and doing so in one of the finest institutions in all of Canada.
Thank you very much.