CANADA

Canada is one of the world’s most geographically vast and culturally diverse nations — and this diversity is beautifully reflected in its UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As of 2025, Canada has 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include 11 cultural, 10 natural, and 1 mixed site.

These sites showcase Canada’s ancient Indigenous heritage, European colonial history, and breathtaking landscapes that stretch from the Arctic tundra to the Pacific coast and the Atlantic shores.

🏛️ CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES

1. L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Inscribed: 1978
Significance:
L’Anse aux Meadows is the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America, dating back to around 1000 CE. It represents the first European presence in the New World, long before Columbus.
Highlights: Reconstructed Norse sod buildings, archaeological remains, interpretive center.

2. Historic District of Old Québec (Quebec)

Inscribed: 1985
Significance:
Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Québec City is the only fortified city north of Mexico. Its Old Town retains colonial French architecture and narrow cobblestone streets, reflecting early European settlement in North America.
Highlights: Château Frontenac, Citadel, Dufferin Terrace, city walls.

3. Lunenburg Old Town (Nova Scotia)

Inscribed: 1995
Significance:
Established in 1753, Lunenburg is one of North America’s best-preserved British colonial grid-planned towns, representing maritime culture and shipbuilding heritage.
Highlights: Colorful waterfront buildings, Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

4. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (Alberta)

Inscribed: 1981
Significance:
Used for over 6,000 years by Indigenous Plains peoples, this site shows a sophisticated communal hunting technique in which bison were driven over a cliff.
Highlights: Interpretive museum, archaeological layers, cultural traditions.

5. SG̱ang Gwaay (Anthony Island, British Columbia)

Inscribed: 1981
Significance:
Located in the Haida Gwaii archipelago, SG̱ang Gwaay preserves the remains of a Haida village with monumental totem poles and longhouse remains, symbolizing Haida culture and spirituality.
Highlights: Carved totem poles, coastal rainforest, Haida heritage guides.

6. Rideau Canal (Ontario)

Inscribed: 2007
Significance:
Completed in 1832, the Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America. Built originally for military defense, it’s now a major recreational waterway.
Highlights: 202 km of locks and channels, UNESCO plaques, scenic boating routes.

7. Red Bay Basque Whaling Station (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Inscribed: 2013
Significance:
A 16th-century Basque whaling site, Red Bay represents early European industrial whaling in the North Atlantic and cross-cultural trade.
Highlights: Underwater archaeological remains, whalebone artifacts, visitor center.

8. Landscape of Grand-Pré (Nova Scotia)

Inscribed: 2012
Significance:
This rural cultural landscape commemorates the Acadian people and their agricultural achievements before their tragic deportation in the 18th century.
Highlights: Memorial church, dykelands, farmlands, Acadian heritage museum.

9. Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi (Alberta)

Inscribed: 2019
Significance:
A sacred site for the Blackfoot people, featuring thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs that narrate Indigenous spiritual traditions and encounters with European settlers.
Highlights: Rock art, sandstone formations, Indigenous storytelling.

10. Tr’ondëk-Klondike (Yukon)

Inscribed: 2023
Significance:
Recognized for its Indigenous and Gold Rush heritage, this site reflects the interaction between the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and the influx of settlers during the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899).
Highlights: Dawson City, cultural landscapes, traditional fishing camps.

11. Old Town Lunenburg (Nova Scotia)

(Already listed above; Canada currently has 11 distinct cultural sites total)

🌿 NATURAL HERITAGE SITES

12. Nahanni National Park (Northwest Territories)

Inscribed: 1978
Significance:
A dramatic wilderness area featuring Virginia Falls, deep canyons, and karst landscapes along the Nahanni River. It’s one of the first World Heritage Sites designated for natural beauty.
Highlights: Canoeing, limestone caves, wildlife viewing.

13. Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta)

Inscribed: 1979
Significance:
Famous for its badlands terrain and over 40 dinosaur species fossils, this site provides a window into the late Cretaceous period (75 million years ago).
Highlights: Fossil beds, hoodoos, interpretive trails.

14. Kluane / Wrangell–St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (Canada-USA)

Inscribed: 1979, extended 1994
Significance:
This transboundary site shared with the U.S. protects one of the largest icefield regions outside the polar areas, including North America’s tallest mountain (Mount Logan).
Highlights: Glaciers, wilderness trekking, wildlife (grizzly bears, Dall sheep).

15. Wood Buffalo National Park (Alberta and Northwest Territories)

Inscribed: 1983
Significance:
Canada’s largest national park and one of the largest in the world, it’s home to bison herds, whooping cranes, and vast boreal wetlands.
Highlights: Salt plains, Peace-Athabasca Delta, aurora borealis viewing.

16. Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (Alberta & British Columbia)

Inscribed: 1984
Significance:
Comprising Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, this site showcases towering peaks, glaciers, turquoise lakes, and diverse wildlife.
Highlights: Lake Louise, Columbia Icefield, Banff townsite.

17. Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Inscribed: 1987
Significance:
A geological masterpiece demonstrating continental drift theory, Gros Morne features exposed Earth’s mantle rocks and dramatic fjords.
Highlights: Tablelands, Western Brook Pond, coastal cliffs.

18. Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (Alberta/Montana, USA)

Inscribed: 1995
Significance:
The world’s first international peace park, symbolizing U.S.-Canada friendship. It protects shared ecosystems across the Rocky Mountains.
Highlights: Waterton Lakes, alpine meadows, cross-border trails.

19. Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Nova Scotia)

Inscribed: 2008
Significance:
These cliffs contain the world’s most complete fossil record from the Carboniferous Period (about 300 million years ago), including early amphibians and giant trees.
Highlights: Fossilized forests, interpretive center, coastal walks.

20. Mistaken Point (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Inscribed: 2016
Significance:
The site holds the oldest known large fossils of multicellular life (Ediacaran biota), dating to over 560 million years ago.
Highlights: Fossil-bearing rocks, guided scientific tours.

21. Pimachiowin Aki (Manitoba and Ontario) – Mixed Site

Inscribed: 2018
Significance:
A mixed natural and cultural site, Pimachiowin Aki (“the land that gives life”) is sacred to the Anishinaabe people and features boreal forests, lakes, and spiritual sites.
Highlights: Traditional hunting areas, pristine wilderness, Indigenous governance model.

🌎 SUMMARY TABLE

Type	Site	Location	Year
Cultural	L’Anse aux Meadows	Newfoundland & Labrador	1978
Cultural	Old Québec	Quebec	1985
Cultural	Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump	Alberta	1981
Cultural	SG̱ang Gwaay	British Columbia	1981
Cultural	Lunenburg Old Town	Nova Scotia	1995
Cultural	Rideau Canal	Ontario	2007
Cultural	Red Bay Basque Whaling Station	Newfoundland & Labrador	2013
Cultural	Grand-Pré Landscape	Nova Scotia	2012
Cultural	Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi	Alberta	2019
Cultural	Tr’ondëk-Klondike	Yukon	2023
Natural	Nahanni National Park	Northwest Territories	1978
Natural	Dinosaur Provincial Park	Alberta	1979
Natural	Kluane / Wrangell–St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek	YT/BC/USA	1979–1994
Natural	Wood Buffalo National Park	Alberta/NWT	1983
Natural	Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks	AB/BC	1984
Natural	Gros Morne National Park	Newfoundland & Labrador	1987
Natural	Waterton-Glacier Peace Park	Alberta/USA	1995
Natural	Joggins Fossil Cliffs	Nova Scotia	2008
Natural	Mistaken Point	Newfoundland & Labrador	2016
Mixed	Pimachiowin Aki	Manitoba & Ontario	2018

🌲 Conclusion

Canada’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites reveal a profound harmony between people and nature. From the Indigenous cultural landscapes of the Prairies to the prehistoric fossil cliffs of the Atlantic coast and the majestic Rockies, these sites stand as symbols of human resilience, ecological stewardship, and scientific wonder.

They collectively tell Canada’s story — a land where ancient traditions meet untamed wilderness.