A Message from the President and CEO

Mark O’Neill, President and CEO

These are very exciting times at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. On October 16, the government announced that the Museum will become the Canadian Museum of History. What will this mean for visitors and for our sponsors and donors?

Two words come to mind: Change and continuity.

First, the change. Over the next five years, culminating in 2017 when Canada celebrates 150 years of confederation, almost half of the Museum will be transformed. We will create a new 4,650 square metre (50,000 square feet) permanent hall to house Canada’s national treasures and to feature exhibitions that preserve the experiences and memories of the Canadian people. We’ll do this in the spaces now occupied by the Canada Hall, the Canadian Personalities Hall and the Canadian Postal Museum, and we’ll re-integrate many of the artifacts, collections and stories currently exhibited in these spaces. The new hall, the largest and most comprehensive museum exhibition on Canadian history ever, will also include an area for exhibitions from museums across the country.

Second, the continuity. The museum’s new mandate will allow us to sharpen what is already our main focus—showcasing and celebrating the seminal events, people and objects that have shaped Canada. The First Peoples Hall and the Grand Hall will continue to present the rich history of Canada’s First Peoples and their modern-day contributions to Canadian culture and society. (Of course, the stories of Canada’s First Peoples will also have their place in the new hall.) The Museum will continue to present exhibitions on history and culture from museums around the world. And the Canadian Children’s Museum will continue to engage and delight children and their families.

Our historians and researchers, in collaboration with scholars and content experts from across the country, will develop the new exhibition for the Canadian Museum of History. We’ll ask Canadians to help guide this work by telling us which stories, themes and events they feel have been most important in shaping Canada’s history.

Throughout the transition, the Museum will remain open. The new hall will be developed gradually to keep as much as possible of the museum accessible to visitors.

We are honoured to have been given this opportunity to take to a new level our commitment to preserving and presenting Canada’s shared history and identity, and we invite you to join us on this journey of discovery and celebration.

Mark O’Neill