Ontario City Library history

Algonquin Provincial Park was the first provincial park in Canada to have a nature program, developed and led by experts in natural history. It began as a trial in 1944 but was so popular with park visitors that it blossomed into a world renowned program, now offered in over 70 provincial parks.

1946 – Two students, Al Helmsley and Norm Martin, were hired to assist J.R. Dymond in the interpretive (nature) program at Algonquin.

1948 – The first (temporary) museum in Ontario Parks was established.

1953 – The Algonquin Park Nature Museum was opened.

1954 - Ontario has eight provincial parks.

1955 – By this time, two parks had full naturalist programs: Algonquin and Rondeau Provincial Park.

1956 – More than 127,000 people used interpretive services in provincial parks.

1957 – Grant Tayler became the first permanent staff biologist and naturalist for Algonquin Provincial Park.

1960 - There are now 45 provincial parks in Ontario, hosting over 5 million visits annually.

1962 – Naturalist programs were presented on the beach at Lake Superior Provincial Park at the Agawa Bay campgrounds.

1963 – Algonquin Provincial Park’s first public wolf howl was held.

1967 - Ontario introduces a policy that divides parks into classes based on permitted activities.

1978 - Ontario introduces the Ontario Provincial Parks Planning and Management Policies, the first park system planning and policy framework of its kind in Canada.

1983 - A province-wide strategic land use planning exercise leads to the creation of 155 new parks.

1989 - There are now 256 provincial parks in Ontario encompassing over 6.3 million hectares.

1993 - Ontario celebrates the centenary of both the provincial parks system and Algonquin Provincial Park.

1994 – 44 provincial parks were offering interpretive programs to park visitors.

1995 – The program was renamed “Natural Heritage Education.”

1996 - The provincial parks system adopts a new entrepreneurial operating model, symbolized by a new logo and name - Ontario Parks.

1999 - Ontario's Living Legacy establishes 61 new parks and expands 45 existing parks.

2001 - Ontario Parks hosts over 10 million visits for the first time.

2006 - The Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act is passed, strengthening the legislative framework for the management of the protected areas system in Ontario.