An aerial view of the Grande-Grave Heritage Sector of Forillon National Park in Quebec/Parks Canada

Forillon National Park is getting a $9.8-million ($7.4-million USD) funding boost to restore and present the heritage houses of Grande-Grave’s expropriated families — an iconic sector of the Quebec park.

The money was announced recently as part of $557 million ($419 USD) in federal funding for Parks Canada over three years to ensure the continuation of infrastructure projects and critical maintenance work.

This long-awaited Grande-Grave announcement includes the restoration of several heritage buildings, commemoration of the expropriated families’ history, and creation of heritage cottage type-accommodation.

Created in partnership with the Association of Persons Expropriated from Forillon and their Descendants, this offer will detail the difficult past experienced by expropriated families living in the area at the time of the park's 1970 creation. Parks Canada said it will help bring to life the residential past of the site, tell the larger Grande-Grave story and the positive impact these families had on the nation, and provide a unique experience in the Gaspé region.

“The houses and other buildings which belonged to the expropriated people are among the last witnesses to the history of the community living in Grande-Grave when Forillon National Park was established,” association treasurer Hermeline Smith said in a news release. “For us, it was increasingly difficult to see these beautiful houses unused. They had been, at the time, the anchor point of families for decades.”

One of the treasured buildings in Forillon National Park's Grande-Grave Heritage Sector that is in need of work/Parks Canada

In June 1970, Forillon became Quebec’s first national park within the Canadian network. Located on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, it protects land and a narrow strip of marine area.

Parks Canada is responsible for one of the largest collections of federal government assets, managing built assets in 47 national parks, one national urban park, five national marine conservation areas, 171 national historic sites and nine heritage canals. Its infrastructure portfolio includes more than 18,500 built assets such as highways, bridges, dams and other marine infrastructure, historic buildings and fortifications, water and wastewater treatment facilities, campgrounds, visitor centers and operational buildings and compounds.

This federal investment will allow Parks Canada to focus on high priority capital projects across the country, complete critical maintenance work and sustain its asset workforce capacity.

Parks Canada approaches infrastructure projects in ways that support broader federal priorities, such as including Indigenous perspectives, mitigating climate change, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the environmental footprint and focusing on sustainability, while ensuring efficient, modern, accessible and inclusive facilities.

Since 2015, the federal infrastructure investment program has allowed Parks Canada to improve the condition of about 5,000 assets.