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
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.