Thousands of historic buildings in Toronto are potentially on the brink of losing their heritage status by the end of 2024, and the process of fully protecting all of the properties on the chopping block is proving to be a burdensome task. 

Nearly 4,000 buildings in the city are now at risk of losing their heritage status, all thanks to changes made to the Heritage Act and the introduction of Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, which was passed by the provincial government in 2023. 

The bill sets a two-year time limit for buildings that are specifically listed — aka those with non-designated status — on the Toronto Heritage Register, which encompasses properties in the city that have been evaluated and determined to have cultural heritage value. 

If listed properties are not granted designated status by the end of 2024, they will be prevented from being re-listed for another five years. 

According to the City's website, being listed on the Heritage Register means further evaluation of the property will take place if there is an intent to have it demolished. 

"Having properties listed is an important first step in ensuring we can preserve our heritage, but it does not prevent growth. Not everything listed will be formally designated as a heritage property," the website reads. 

The Heritage Register currently protects 11,271 properties, with 3,977 properties with listed status, including the Queen's Park legislative building, the Ontario Science Centre, Little Trinity Church, the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall, as well as Toronto's oldest bar, the Wheatsheaf Tavern.

While there's plenty of work to do before the end-of-year deadline, it's worth noting that the City usually only designates a few properties every month, meaning the nearly 4,000 building backlog will require lots of patience to work through. 

Typically, listed properties are only offered the full protections of designated status if there's an urgent reason.

In a November report, the City of Toronto's senior manager of heritage planning, Mary MacDonald, said that the department is currently reviewing the register and prioritizing buildings, with a final report of recommendations issued sometime in 2024. 

MacDonald told the Star that her department is also exploring other alternatives when it comes to the Heritage Register, such as a possible city-created register. Architecture Conservancy Ontario (ACO) is similarly creating a database of historic buildings called TOBuilt to keep track of all the buildings that may lose their status. 

Despite this, it appears as though some Toronto residents aren't too upset with the idea of historic buildings being demolished to make way for more affordable housing. 

In a Reddit thread discussing the potential loss of heritage status for many listed Toronto buildings, the majority of the top comments were in favour of removing historic protections in certain cases. 

Thousands of Toronto's buildings are at risk of losing their heritage status. Here's why
byu/Ok-Cellist4673 intoronto

"When the entire Danforth was added as heritage, it felt like the city was handicapping itself with respect to housing development and remove exclusionary zoning requirements," one person wrote. 

"I've seen flocks of busybody neighbors act like an abandoned gas station is the Pinnacle of Canadian culture to prevent additional housing and then WIN. It needs to stop," another comment reads. 

"I love actual heritage buildings, but we need to redefine what that means."