Funding Infusion For Infrastructure Improvements At Four Ontario Sites

By NPT Staff - January 25th, 2023

At Fort Henry National Historic Site, an original garrison gun was installed to defend navy shipyards and the southern entrance of the Rideau Canal/Parks Canada

Four national historic sites in Ontario will get about $12 million ($9 million USD) over three years for projects related to critical infrastructure improvements.

Through this federal investment — part of the $557 million ($417 million USD) in funding announced by the federal government in late 2022 — Parks Canada will conserve the heritage value of Fort Henry National Historic Site, Fort Wellington National Historic Site, Laurier House National Historic Site and Sir John Johnson House National Historic Site. The work includes:

• Restoring deteriorating stone walls, updating sanitary systems and replacing the main entry bridge at Fort Henry.

• Protecting Laurier House from the elements with a new roof.

• Continuing to preserve the battlements of Fort Wellington using the innovative approach that was successfully proven through a first phase of renewal in 2020.

• Upgrading the fire alarm and protection systems at Sir John Johnson House.

Sir John Johnson House National Historic Site is in Williamstown, Ontario/Parks Canada

“These federal infrastructure investments give our past a future,” Mona Fortier, president of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier, said in a news release. “The significant restorative work will be transformative for these heritage treasures and will help protect and conserve these national historic sites for future generations. For nearly half a century, Laurier House stood witness to the lives of two Prime Ministers who oversaw great changes in Canada and today offers visitors unique insights into our political history. These national historic sites not only provide a glimpse of our country's rich history, but are focal points for the communities around them, offering social, cultural, economic, linguistic and tourism benefits.”

Parks Canada's wide-ranging infrastructure portfolio includes more than 18,500 built assets. It provides spaces where Canadians can understand history from a variety of perspectives and share their own stories.

Fort Henry is the centrepiece of the Kingston Fortifications National Historic Site and part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. It draws more than 100,000 people each year. Completed in 1836, it was built to defend the Rideau Canal and Kingston's naval dockyard from American attack. Owned and administered by Parks Canada, a partnership with the province of Ontario enables the St. Lawrence Parks Commission to continue its internationally renowned programs in this impressive structure.

Built during the War of 1812 to defend the St. Lawrence River shipping route between Montreal and Kingston against a possible attack by the United States, Fort Wellington has the largest blockhouse built in British North America.

Willed to the people of Canada by Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King, Laurier House is one of the most authentic heritage buildings administered by Parks Canada, and features Ottawa's oldest elevator.

Sir John Johnson, a loyalist who moved North to Montreal following the American Revolution, was instrumental in resettling many loyalists in what is now Ontario. Sir John Johnson House was built in 1792 in the village of Williamstown and is one of the oldest buildings in Ontario.

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