Honouring people making extraordinary contributions to protect and celebrate Ontario’s heritage

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Congratulations to the 2025 ACO Heritage Awards recipients!

Nominations are now open for 2026

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ACO Public Education and Engagement Award – Amherstburg Freedom Museum

A.K. Sculthorpe Award for Advocacy – Edith George

Stephen A. Otto Award for Research and Documentation – Dave LeBlanc

ACO NextGen Award – Harrison Cole

Carlos Ventin Award for Municipal Heritage Leadership – City of Richmond Hill Council

James D. Strachan Award for Craft – Jean-Francois Furieri

Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse: Large-Scale – The Royal Hotel

Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse: Small-Scale – 79-81 Murray St., Amherstburg

Peter Stokes Restoration Award: Large-Scale – Allan Gardens Palm House

Peter Stokes Restoration Award: Small-Scale – Sundial Folly

ACO Special Jury Award – St. Lawrence Market North Archaeological Remains Salvage

Mary Millard Award for Special Contributions to ACO – Eben Rawluk

Eric Arthur Lifetime Achievement Award – Susan Ratcliffe

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The ACO Heritage Awards honour conservation leaders, projects and initiatives that are worthy of provincial recognition for their contribution to architectural conservation in Ontario. Presenting awards both for people and for projects, the scope of the program includes recognition for architects and designers, but also craftspeople, scholars, advocates, community organizers and others.

The awards gala event is typically held in October, at a historic venue in Ontario; past venues include Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, The Assembly Hall, The 1871 Berkeley Church, and Junction Craft Brewing (a repurposed 1930s garbage incinerator).

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Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO)

The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario is the province’s principal non-government volunteer organization dedicated to the conservation of built heritage.  Founded in 1933, we remain committed to protecting our rich built and landscape heritage for future generations to enjoy.

ACO’s mandate is “through education and advocacy, to encourage the conservation and re-use of structures, districts and landscapes of architectural, historic and cultural significance, to inspire and benefit Ontarians.” Over its 93-year history, ACO has helped save hundreds of buildings in communities across Ontario, and raised awareness of the benefits of preserving our community heritage. In addition to the historic value of older buildings, we promote the social, cultural, economic, and environmental benefits of preservation versus demolition.

ACO carries out its mandate in a number of ways. The first is education: we promote public awareness of heritage through the publication of our biannual journal, Acorn, and through educational activities such as lectures and symposia. ACO is also a partner in the annual Ontario Heritage Conference, and hosts a special Heritage Day at The Ontario Legislature every February during Heritage Week.

ACO is committed to supporting individuals and communities in their efforts to preserve heritage buildings and sites. Our PreservationWorks! program offers preservation advice to heritage property owners. We also occasionally acquire at-risk heritage properties to restore and operate.

Through ACO’s NextGen group, we offer a job shadow program for students and emerging professionals to help them make connections with established heritage professionals. Our annual Design Charrette brings young professionals together to solve design challenges with the help of professionals who volunteer their time to lead sessions.

Our primary community celebration, the ACO Heritage Awards, takes place every autumn. These awards honour and celebrate people who have made significant achievements in heritage preservation in the previous year. They recognize the accomplishments of individuals and groups who have preserved community heritage, whether through advocacy, restoration, adaptive reuse, landscape heritage, research, or craftsmanship.

ACO’s activities are carried out through our provincial office and branches located across Southern Ontario. ACO is registered as a charitable organization under the Income Tax Act, and we depend on charitable donations to run our programs. Donations can be made on our website, www.acontario.ca.