Province to spend $789M for new Royal B.C. Museum on current site
The British Columbia government will spend $789 million on a new Royal B.C. Museum building at its current location near the B.C. legislature in Victoria.
Premier John Horgan joined Tourism and Culture Minister Melanie Mark, as well as the museum's CEO and chiefs from the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, for the announcement Friday.
The new building will incorporate mass-timber construction and will meet modern safety and accessibility standards.
"I know the value and importance of the seven million artifacts housed in this building," Horgan said during a news conference announcing the redevelopment Friday afternoon. "They need to be housed more appropriately than they have over the past several decades."
Earlier this year, the province said the current museum facilities on Belleville Street are nearing the end of their life and fall short of current seismic standards.
In November, the museum announced that it would close its beloved third floor galleries, including Old Town and the First Peoples exhibits, saying it was closing the galleries in support of "decolonization" efforts.
The new museum will be among the first large-scale B.C. government projects to partner with local First Nations in both project development and delivery, including designs that will reflect the Lekwungen-speaking peoples, and members of the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation, the province said.
Mark said the question of dropping the word "royal" from the new museum's name was raised in the planning process but no decision has been finalized. The minister said the province will be asking British Columbians for input on the new museum's name as construction gets underway.
The $789-million price tag for the new building is in addition to the $200-million archives and research building currently under construction in Colwood, B.C., Horgan said.
The current museum will remain open to the public until Sept. 6, while the Imax theatre and museum gift shop will operate until early 2023, according to the province.
The new museum is scheduled to open in 2030. The province says the redevelopment project will create 1,950 direct construction jobs and 1,050 associated jobs.
Museum CEO Alicia Dubois said the museum will operate travelling exhibitions and satellite displays in Victoria and around the province during the closure.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.