The Places of the Next Great Save 2025

Tam Kung Temple is the oldest Chinese Temple in Canada. Established in 1876 it is located in the Chinatown of Victoria, BC. It is under the guardianship of the Yen Wo Society, a non-profit organization established in 1905 by the Chinese Hakka community. 

Throughout its history, The Grand Theatre has been a center for storytelling and artistic expression, from silent films and vaudeville performances to modern cinema and live theatre. For generations, it has brought families, friends, and visitors together, creating lifelong memories and fostering a sense of belonging. 

Willowbank is Canada’s only school combining heritage skills and theory in our innovative Heritage Conservation Diploma delivered at a National Historic Site. With 95% of graduates working in the field, we are helping preserve iconic sites in communities across Canada and abroad including UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Lunenburg in Nova Scotia and Kew Gardens in England, and locally important projects such as adaptive reuse for affordable housing. Alumni become stonemasons, carpenters, heritage planners, designers, and artisans. 

Perched on Labrador’s rugged coast, the Battle Harbour Marconi Towers are a rare piece of early global communication history. Built in 1904 as part of Newfoundland’s wireless network, they played a key role in maritime safety and international messaging. In 1909, Admiral Robert Peary’s North Pole expedition announcement was transmitted from here, gaining worldwide recognition. 

The Empyrean Cemetery in Yellowhead County, Alberta, is a historic burial site for Indigenous Black and African American families, recognized as Canada‘s first Black settlement in the prairies. It was founded in 1905 by the Imperial Baptist Church for the Junkins Black community and saw its last interment in 1957. As time passed, many original Black families relocated to cities, leading to the cemetery’s abandonment for over 70 years. 

The O’Keefe Ranch was founded in 1867 and represents the very beginnings of European settlement in the Okanagan Valley. In its earliest days, the O’Keefe Ranch was the end of the wagon road into the Okanagan Valley and the site of the stagecoach depot. It was a small, self-contained community, with a Post Office, blacksmith shops, grist mill, and even its own church and cemetery. Many of the original buildings still exist and are a delight to explore. The O’Keefe Ranch tells the story of early BC ranching and endeavors to preserve the history and culture of the early ranching era for future generations.

The Maison Doucet Hennessy House is a cherished local historic site built by Charles Doucet, an enterprising Acadian refugee whose family established the first permanent European settlement at Nepisiguit (present-day Bathurst, New Brunswick) in 1781.  

The original homestead was built circa 1812 on a King George III land grant. Subsequent generations of Doucets raised and expanded the house to what we see today, a large, 2 1/2 story structure with stone foundation, mansard roof, windows, dormers and shingles. A staircase at the entry and framed window treatment around the front door and vestibule give this house a distinctive, stately appearance. 

In the early 1900s, the house and 200 acres passed on to the Irish-Scottish Hennessys, who have a compelling immigrant story to tell of their own. Known locally as the Doucet Hennessy House, the building stands

Experience Newfoundland and Labrador outport life as it was, as it is now, and as the future unfolds. St. Mark’s Heritage Church is a 1926 Gothic Revival Church located prominently on the Main Road passing through Bareneed, NL. and is visible from a number of surrounding communities. The church and the one room schoolhouse adjacent to it have served important spiritual and social functions for residents of Bareneed for 100 years. The two buildings are representative of the historically close relationship between religion and education in NL.  Its location on the main road to the Port de Grave Peninsula serves as a starting point to the world renowned attractions of the area.  

St. Sylvester’s Church, founded in 1852 as a Jesuit mission, is a treasured and frequently photographed landmark in Nipigon. Built by our ancestors from nearby forest logs, it has stood for 173 years as a symbol of faith and resilience for the Red Rock Indian Band. The church, completed in 1877, served as a rest stop for Jesuit missionaries traveling to nearby missions, while also witnessing countless baptisms, weddings, and farewells. The adjacent cemetery, with burials dating back to 1880, remains an active site where we continue to lay our loved ones to rest.

Hourie House was built in 1890 in High Bluff, Manitoba. In 1859, Hudson’s Bay gifted Philip and Euphemia Hourie a land Grant in1859 for faithful service to the company. The Hourie home was built due to Euphemia falling through the second-story floor of their original log home. In 1967, they were declared Manitoba’s farm of the century; the house was moved in 1977 to the Fort la Reine Museum, where it remains. This house has significant connections to the community Metis heritage- as the home matriarch, Euphemia Halcro-Cook, was a well-known midwife for the area in the late 19th century. The Hourie home is an example of an early Canadian farm home with Victorian-era features, a step up from the typical log chinking of the time. 

The Dove Brook Church is more than just a church, it is a significant structure filled with a rich history and heritage that embodies the determination and devotion of Inuit living in Sandwich Bay, Labrador. Traditionally, Sandwich Bay was known as natsitok (Inuttitut for the place of many ringed seals). Many families, who still live in nearby Cartwright, are descended from these Inuit, and continue to maintain their deep connections to the land, waters, and ice all year round.