Provincial and territorial museums of Canada are

museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

maintained by the

provinces and territories of Canada Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

to preserve their

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. However, the collections of some museums extend beyond its provincial boundaries, showcasing historical and natural works from around the world. These museums are the equivalent to

national museums A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, operated by the provincial and territorial governments of Canada. In the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, the provincial government uses the term "national" to refer to provincial museums. Many provinces have separate facilities for

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

and

natural history museums A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, and

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

. However, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador, all these functions are housed in one complex,

The Rooms The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Muse ...

, in St. John's.

List of provincial and territorial history museums

Nearly all Canadian provinces and territories operate a provincial museum of some kind, the majority being either encyclopedic museums that cover a wider variety of topics including science and nature, or

history museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

s, that focus on human events. The only province that does not operate a provincial museum is

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. The following table lists the provincial and territorial museums presently operating in Canada.

List of provincial and territorial art galleries

Several Canadian provinces and territories operate art galleries. The following table lists the provincial and territorial art galleries presently operating in Canada. Although it receives public money, the

Art Gallery of Alberta The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies a building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alth ...

is not a provincially-operated institution, but is run by a not-for-profit society, and has been excluded from this table.

List of provincial and territorial archives and libraries

Nearly all Canadian provinces operate a provincial archive and libraries. The

British Columbia Archives The British Columbia Provincial Archives are located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The BC Archives merged with the Royal BC Museum in 2003. The BC Archives contain the archives of the British Columbia government, and are valuable for bot ...

was a former provincial agency that managed the archives for the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. In 2003, the provincial government merged the British Columbia Archives with the Royal British Columbia Museum, while the record management component of the former agency was assumed by the British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services. Since 2003, the Royal British Columbia Museum maintains the provincial archives as a department of the museum. The following table lists the nine provincial archives and libraries presently operating in Canada.

List of other provincial and territorial museums

Some provinces and territories operate additional museums that serve specialized topics.

Notes

References