Municipally Designated Sites in Winnipeg
The Historical Resources By-Law establishes 3 types of heritage status lists:
View the List of Historical Resources
Learn more about the List of Historical Resources
- Buildings or lands that have been declared historical resources by the City of Winnipeg are based on recommendations by the Historical Buildings and Resources Committee because they embody heritage values.
- Heritage values represent the architectural and historic significance of a resource and are based on the following criteria:
- Age - importance in illustrating or interpreting the history of the city or a neighbourhood
- Person - association with important individuals, groups, or events
- Context - illustration of the architectural or design history of the city
- Style - embodiment of distinct or unusual architectural or design characteristics or a particular style or method of construction
- Location - location in an area of historical or architectural interest
- Intactness - historical or architectural integrity
- Character-Defining Elements (CDEs) are any identified interior and/or exterior elements of a resource that embody its heritage values because of their "materials, form, location, spatial configuration, use or cultural association or meaning" (By-law 55/2014, Section 13[2]). The CDEs form part of the designation of a resource and are protected from demolition and alterations.
- Heritage values represent the architectural and historic significance of a resource and are based on the following criteria:
- Must be at least 40 years old.
- Implications to owners
- The subject property and Listed Character Defining Elements are on the List of Historical Resources under the Historical Resources By-law No. 55/2014.
- Demolition of the Listed Historical Resource is prohibited, and proposed alterations to the Character-Defining Elements require approval under a Heritage Permit.
- A Historic Property Notice (caveat) is filed against the title of the building with the Winnipeg Land Titles Office of the Property Registry as per City of Winnipeg Charter Section 157.1(3) in order to notify the owner and potential purchasers that the property is identified on the List of Historical Resources, and as such is subject to the Historical Resources By-law No. 55/2014.
- The owner of a Listed Historical Resource may be eligible to apply for heritage grants and incentive programs issued under the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba and will be viewed favourably by other heritage granting agencies.
- If the Listed Historical Resource is vacant, the basement or crawlspace of the resource must be heated to a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius to prevent undue shifting, heaving or "frost-jacking" of the listed resource, unless an owner provides evidence that the listed resource was not built using shallow foundations as defined by the Manitoba Building Code.
- Some buildings on the List have a Grade.
- Under the current By-law, resources are added to the List of Historical Resources without a Grade ("N/A").
For resources that were added to the List prior to June 1, 2014 under the former Historical Buildings By-law No. 1474/77, the level of protection for each resource is attributed to its Grade. These levels of protection have carried over under the current By-law.
According to By-law No. 1474/77, Section 5:
There are hereby established the following three grades under which buildings, erections or structures deemed to be of special architectural or historical interest may be listed on the Buildings Conservation List:
- Grade I; the objectives of which are:
- to preserve the entire exterior and interior of the building, erection or structure, and
- to ensure that all repairs thereof are appropriate to their special architectural or historical interest.
- Grade II; the objectives of which are:
- to preserve the entire exterior of the building, erection or structure and such of its interior elements as are specified in the listing, and
- to ensure that all repairs thereof are appropriate to their special architectural or historical interest, and
- to prevent or regulate demolition, removal, alteration or repair of the remainder of such interior in the manner described in subsection 5(c).
- Grade III; the objectives of which are:
- to prevent demolition, removal, alteration or repair of the building, erection or structure unless and until shown to be necessary to the satisfaction of the Designated Committee in cases of removal, alteration, or repair and Council in the case of demolition, and
- to regulate any necessary demolition, removal, alteration or repair of the building, erection or structure so as to preserve the special architectural or historical interest as far as possible, and
- to record, or preserve where possible, components deemed to have special architectural or historical interest prior to, or in the course of, any necessary demolition, removal, alteration or repair.
- Under the current By-law, resources are added to the List of Historical Resources without a Grade ("N/A").
View the Nominated List
Learn More About the Nominated List
- Building or lands that are awaiting evaluation via the nomination process.
- Possible candidates for inclusion on the List of Historical Resources.
- Implications to owners
- All elements of a Nominated resource/building are protected from demolition and removal until the Historical Buildings and Resources Committee (HBRC) makes a recommendation on the proposed character-defining elements (CDEs).
- Once the HBRC makes a recommendation on the Listing, then the proposed CDEs become protected from demolition and alterations.
- Proposed alterations may require Heritage Review. If you are planning alterations to your Nominated property, please contact heritage staff for assistance.
View the Commemorative List
Learn More About the Commemorative List
- Buildings or lands recognized for their architectural and/or historical value.
- No restrictions on demolition or alterations.
- Conservation is encouraged.
- The Director of Planning, Property and Development has the authority to add resources to this list.
Last update:
September 9, 2022