What are Historic Places?
Historic places include the buildings, neighbourhoods, trails and cultural landscapes that provide a sense of place and contribute to BC's unique identity. They serve as touchstones to memory and catalysts for community revitalization. Formal recognition of such places builds awareness of our shared heritage.
What is the BC Register of Historic Places?
The BC Register of Historic Places (BCRHP) is an official list of historic places that have been formally recognized by the province or by a local government. The BCRHP supports land use decisions, heritage conservation projects, and public awareness initiatives. There are over 5,000 registered sites representing the diversity of historic places across the province.
The BCRHP is a subset of the Provincial Heritage Register of historic and archaeological sites that exists as a statutory requirement of the Heritage Conservation Act. Archaeological and pre-1846 sites are not included on the BCRHP. Contact the Archaeology Branch for information about archaeology in BC.
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Click on the thumbnails below to access the user guides to help you navigate the Arches interface:
Local Government Historic Places
Under the Local Government Act and the Vancouver Charter, local governments can formally protect and recognize places with local or regional heritage significance, primarily through municipal designation and community heritage register listings. Local governments notify the province of recognized municipal historic places so they can be added to the BC Register of Historic Places.
If you have questions about a site recognized under the Local Government Act, you should contact the Local government for further information.
Provincial Historic Places
Under the Heritage Conservation Act, the province protects historic places with provincial-level heritage significance in several ways, primarily through designation as provincial heritage property (Crown land) or provincial heritage sites (non-Crown land).
In British Columbia, there are over 50 provincial heritage designations for historic places under the Heritage Conservation Act.
Federal Government Historic Places
The federal government has responsibility for national-level formal recognition. National Historic Sites and other federal recognitions are not officially part of the BC Register of Historic Places but are noted in the system.
Contact the Heritage Branch
For more information or to report any issues please contact the Heritage Branch at heritage@gov.bc.ca or visit our website.
The Heritage Branch acknowledges it carries out its work on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations throughout British Columbia. We pay our respects to the Elders, past and present, descendants and custodians of these lands. We honour the knowledge keepers and the continuing relationships with Indigenous peoples in BC that develop through our work together. The Heritage Branch is grateful to the Lekwungen-speaking people, today known as the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations, on whose traditional territories we operate our main offices.