SAHARA Highlights: Canada

One very large country that hasn’t been a subject for Highlights is Canada. The built environment of Canada incorporates indigenous and indigenous-inspired design; Colonial styles, predominantly Victorian; modernism and international influences; and many homegrown, unique designs that adapt to the climate and geography, and availability of local materials. There are also many regional styles, from the multi-storey wooden structures of Atlantic Canada, to the stone buildings of Quebec, the brick post-WWII bungalows of Toronto, or the Iqaluit structures designed to deflect the cold and winds of the Arctic.

This is a small sample of the Canadian built environment in SAHARA. We would love to see more from your travels and research. Learn more about contributing your images. 

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1. Douglas J. Cardinal, First Nations University of Canada, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, 2003.  Founded in 1976 as Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, the school was renamed in 2003. Photograph by Abigail Auld, 2016.

2. Bradley Fish Store, Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada, ca 1733. This timber frame style is common in the Atlantic provinces. Photograph by Dell Upton, 1986

3. Arthur Charles Erickson, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, 1965. Photograph by Lauren Soth.

4. Papineau Gerin-Lajoie Leblanc Architects, Nakasuk Elementary School, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 1975. Constructed of pre-fabricated fiberglass panels. Photograph by Samuel Dubois, 2022.

5. Victor Daniel Horsburgh, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 1914. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2013.

6. Streetscape, Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada, ca. 1898. This area was inhabited by First Nations peoples, but when the Klondike Gold Rush started in 1896 it was renamed Dawson City, and it transformed into a boom town of 40,000. By 1902 the population was less than 5,000. Photograph by Patrick Malone, 1990.

7. Row houses, Saint John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, ca 1880-1920. Brightly painted timber row houses are typical of Newfoundland. Photograph by Dell Upton, 1986.

8. Hudson’s Bay Company Outpost, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 1914. Known as Frobisher Bay since WWII, the traditional Inuktitut name was restored in 1987. It was an Inuit fishing port, and from 1949 a central trading post site for Hudson’s Bay Co. Photograph by Samuel Dubois, 2022.

9. The Former Royal Alberta Museum Building, Edmonton, Alberta, 1967. A new museum opened in 2018, and this building is slated for demolition and replaced with green space. Photograph by Abigail Auld, 2016.

10. Lemaymichaud Architecture Design, First Nations Hotel and Museum, Wendake, Quebec, Canada, 2007-2008.  The hotel design is mean to evoke Iroquoian longhouses, with the conical museum portion referencing an Algonquin smokehouse. Photograph by Dell Upton, 2013.

11.  Bruno Freschi, Jamatkhana, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, 1984. Built for the Ismaili Muslim community, the building houses cultural, social, educational and religious activities. Photograph by Angela Anderson, 2012.

12. Frank Darling & Samuel George Curry, Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built as a Bank of Montreal branch in 1886, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in the space in 1993 after outgrowing earlier iterations. Photograph by Mayesha Alam, 2023.