Parks Canada looks to shine light on cloudy future for historic sites
OTTAWA — Sunny ways? Not so much at Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s historic home.
The small structure north of Montreal has seen a sharp decline in attendance, to 623 visitors in 2016 from about 2,600 in 2011.
The same trend is seen at semi-detached homes once owned by Sir George-Etienne Cartier, where the number of visitors has dropped by 67 per cent between 2011 and 2013, marked by a decline in school groups.
A similar story also plays out at other historic sites at the centre of recently launched public consultations that, once complete, will produce 10-year plans designed to turn around sagging attendance figures.