Canadian historic sites range from nationally administered places and collections to Alberta’s extensive inventory of recorded historic places. The statistics below show the size of that system, how visitation changed over time, when Albertans visited historic sites and museums in 2024 and 2025, and how heritage places relate to visitor experience and the economy.
Contents
- How large is the historic-place system?
- National visitation trends
- Alberta attendance in 2024
- Alberta attendance in 2025
- Visitor experience and site condition
- Economic impact of heritage-place visits
How large is the historic-place system?
Parks Canada’s 2023 overview describes an administered system that includes 171 national historic sites, 5 national marine conservation areas, 47 national parks, and 1 national urban park. The same overview says Canada has 12 of the 20 World Heritage Sites listed in that overview. These counts describe the full Parks Canada system, not only historic sites. 2023 Minister’s Round Table on Parks Canada
The system also includes a substantial documentary and material record. Parks Canada reports more than 3,800 designations of people, places, and events of importance, as well as 31 million archaeological and historical objects. Those figures indicate that historic-place work involves commemoration, stewardship, research, and collections as well as public visitation. 2023 Minister’s Round Table on Parks Canada
Alberta’s Heritage Survey provides a different measure of scale. Its records database contains more than 100,000 historic places on the current page accessed in 2026. The survey is non-archaeological, and being included in it does not imply legal protection. It should therefore be read as an inventory measure rather than a count of protected sites. Alberta’s Heritage Survey
| Measure | Reported figure | Period or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Parks Canada national historic sites | 171 | 2023 administered system |
| Parks Canada national parks | 47 | 2023 administered system |
| Parks Canada national marine conservation areas | 5 | 2023 administered system |
| Alberta Heritage Survey records | More than 100,000 | Current page, accessed 2026 |
| Parks Canada archaeological and historical objects | 31 million | 2023 |
National visitation trends
Parks Canada places recorded 23.7 million visits in fiscal 2016–17, rising to 27.2 million in 2017–18. The total then reached 25.1 million in 2018–19 and 24.9 million in 2019–20. The fiscal year runs from April 1 through March 31, so these figures are not calendar-year totals. Parks Canada Agency Departmental Results Report, 2022–2023
Visits fell to 17.0 million in fiscal 2020–21, followed by 21.6 million in 2021–22 and 22.5 million in 2022–23. The 2022–23 total remained below the 2017–18 figure, while standing above the 2020–21 low point. These are visits to Parks Canada places overall, rather than visits to national historic sites alone.
National historic sites formed a separate part of the reported series. They recorded 9.3 million visits in 2016–17 and 10.4 million in 2017–18. The series also reports 5.3 million visits in 2020–21 and 7.3 million in 2022–23. The national-historic-site figures should not be added to the all-places figures, because the latter are the broader system total.
| Fiscal year | Parks Canada places | National historic sites |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 23.7 million | 9.3 million |
| 2017–18 | 27.2 million | 10.4 million |
| 2020–21 | 17.0 million | 5.3 million |
| 2022–23 | 22.5 million | 7.3 million |
The comparable figures show the scale of the disruption in 2020–21 and the partial recovery by 2022–23. They also show why the scope label matters: “Parks Canada places” and “national historic sites” are different measures within the same reporting system. Parks Canada Agency Departmental Results Report, 2022–2023
Alberta attendance in 2024
The Alberta Economic Dashboard API reports the series as “Total Admission.” The dashboard describes it as visitor attendance for 18 historic sites and museums, and the values below are monthly Alberta totals. Some sites have seasonal closure, so monthly attendance reflects both visitor patterns and operating availability. Historic Site and Museum Visits by Site — Alberta Economic Dashboard API
Attendance began at 18,224 admissions in January 2024. It was 44,055 in February, 45,613 in March, and 45,222 in April. The monthly total then increased to 84,778 in May and 118,360 in June.
The summer peak was 169,461 admissions in July and 183,862 in August. Attendance declined to 87,737 in September, 43,711 in October, 30,056 in November, and 19,971 in December. August was the highest reported month in 2024, while January was the lowest.
The pattern is strongly seasonal: attendance was below 50,000 in each of January through April, exceeded 100,000 in June through August, and fell below 50,000 again from October through December. These totals are reported monthly and are not recalculated here.
Alberta attendance in 2025
The same Alberta series recorded 26,487 admissions in January 2025, followed by 38,131 in February and 41,493 in March. April reached 56,031, while May and June recorded 86,326 and 119,393 admissions respectively. Historic Site and Museum Visits by Site — Alberta Economic Dashboard API
Attendance peaked at 190,785 in July and 199,331 in August. September recorded 86,803 admissions, October 69,563, November 29,916, and December 17,579. As in 2024, August was the highest month. December was the lowest month in the 2025 series.
The year-to-year monthly comparison is useful because it keeps the seasonal calendar aligned:
| Month | 2024 admissions | 2025 admissions |
|---|---|---|
| January | 18,224 | 26,487 |
| April | 45,222 | 56,031 |
| June | 118,360 | 119,393 |
| July | 169,461 | 190,785 |
| August | 183,862 | 199,331 |
| October | 43,711 | 69,563 |
| December | 19,971 | 17,579 |
In the supplied monthly series, 2025 exceeded 2024 in January, April, May, June, July, August, September, and October. February, March, November, and December were lower in 2025. The comparison is descriptive; the source reports admissions and does not provide a separate explanation for each monthly change.
Visitor experience and site condition
Parks Canada’s National Historic Site Visitor Experience evaluation covered 41 national historic sites through its Visitor Information Program survey from 2010 to 2016. Those sites represented approximately 76% of national-historic-site person-visits during that period. Evaluation of National Historic Site Visitor Experience
The evaluation says the average share of visitors who were both satisfied with and enjoying their visit exceeded 90% since those indicators were adopted in 2001. Parks Canada expects at least 85% of visitors at surveyed locations to learn about a national historic site’s cultural heritage. It also targets at least 85% of visitors considering an administered heritage place meaningful to them. The 85% figures are annual targets, not reported achievement rates.
Visitor experience and physical condition are separate dimensions. Commemorative-integrity assessments covered 30 national historic sites between fiscal 2016–17 and 2020–21. Among those 30 sites, 44.4% of buildings and engineering works of national historic significance were in good condition, while 22.2% were in poor condition. State of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage places, 2021
The condition percentages apply to buildings and engineering works of national historic significance among the assessed sites. They should not be interpreted as the condition of every structure in Canada or every place in Alberta. The evaluation period and the assessment period also differ, so the visitor-experience results and condition results are not a single-year scorecard.
Economic impact of heritage-place visits
Parks Canada reports $1.3 billion in operational spending during fiscal 2023–24 and $4.5 billion in visitor spending at Parks Canada heritage places. Combined Parks Canada and visitor spending totaled $5.8 billion. These are fiscal-year estimates for 2023–24, and the economic-impact report defines its estimates as total direct, indirect, and induced effects. Economic impact of Parks Canada, 2023 to 2024
Total Parks Canada spending generated $5.6 billion in gross domestic product and $3.5 billion in labour income. It supported 51,832 full-time-equivalent jobs. Visitor spending alone contributed $4.0 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product and supported 40,264 full-time jobs across Canada, including 26,181 direct jobs and 14,083 indirect or induced jobs.
| Economic measure | Reported figure | Fiscal period |
|---|---|---|
| Parks Canada operational spending | $1.3 billion | 2023–24 |
| Visitor spending at heritage places | $4.5 billion | 2023–24 |
| Combined Parks Canada and visitor spending | $5.8 billion | 2023–24 |
| GDP generated by total Parks Canada spending | $5.6 billion | 2023–24 |
| Jobs supported by total Parks Canada spending | 51,832 FTE | 2023–24 |
| Jobs supported by visitor spending | 40,264 | 2023–24 |
The visitor-spending employment figure includes 26,181 direct jobs and 14,083 indirect or induced jobs. Together with the visitation and attendance measures above, these estimates show how historic places function simultaneously as cultural resources, public attractions, and contributors to economic activity. They do not convert Alberta’s monthly admissions into an Alberta-specific economic estimate.