Celebrate heritage in Vancouver

Nominations are now open for the Vancouver Heritage Awards, which recognize community efforts to preserve and sustain our city’s cultural heritage. 

The awards acknowledge and celebrate the different facets of heritage in Vancouver that are reflected not only in historic buildings and places, but also through intangible heritage and the self-expressed heritage of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, Urban Indigenous Peoples, and the many cultures that enrich our city. 

The Heritage Awards will honour achievements in three categories: 

Living Heritage – For projects or initiatives that highlight the self-expressed heritage of Vancouver’s communities, or for projects that support reconciliation, cultural redress, or safeguarding or regeneration of living heritage.

Heritage Conservation – For the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or continued maintenance of buildings, structures, cultural landscapes or other natural features, including seismic or sustainability upgrades.

Education and Awareness – For the use of a publication, exhibit, activity, social media, or website to promote tangible or intangible heritage, or celebrate diverse cultures and histories.

Projects eligible for consideration must have been completed within the past six years and must not have previously received a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.

The deadline for nominations is March 3, 2025. Submission requirements and nomination forms are available at: vancouver.ca/heritageawards.

The Heritage Awards will be adjudicated by an independent jury and presented at a ceremony in spring 2025. 

Background

The City of Vancouver oversees a comprehensive heritage program that works to strengthen the policies and tools available to support and protect the city’s heritage. 

In March 2020, City Council approved the new Vancouver Heritage Program PDF file (5.8 MB), which expands the meaning of heritage to firmly embrace cultural heritage and support the self-expressed histories and heritage of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations and Urban Indigenous Peoples. The Heritage Program also enables policy framework and planning tools to further integrate heritage conservation within citywide planning and urban development processes.

In 2024, the City Council approved upgrades to the Vancouver Heritage Register to better reflect the rich diversity of peoples, histories and cultures that make up our city. The upgrade expanded the eligibility criteria to include both tangible and non-tangible heritage elements and incorporated a Truth-telling statement and land acknowledgement developed in collaboration with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.