Your Guide to Canada's National Library and Archives Plan for 2025-26
A look at the future of Canada's collective memory, from a massive new facility in Ottawa to digitizing millions of historical records.
Have you ever wondered how Canada keeps a record of its vast history? From government documents and military records to priceless works of art and family histories, one organization is responsible for preserving it all for current and future generations. That organization is Library and Archives Canada (LAC).
Each year, LAC releases a plan outlining its priorities, goals, and how it intends to spend taxpayer money. This week, we're diving into the 2025-26 Departmental Plan to give you a straightforward summary of what our national memory keeper has in store.
Here’s a look at the key plans, straight from the official document. 🇨🇦
A New Home for Storytelling: The Ādisōke Project
A major focus for LAC is the upcoming opening of Ādisōke, a new shared facility with the Ottawa Public Library, scheduled to open its doors in the summer of 2026. The name itself, Ādisōke, means "storytelling" in the Anishinābemowin Algonquin language.
This state-of-the-art building is designed with environmental sustainability in mind and is expected to welcome 1.7 million visitors a year.
In her opening message, Leslie Weir, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, highlights the importance of this new space:
As we prepare for this significant moment, we are diligently designing new exhibitions, services and programs tailored to meet the diverse needs of our users.
Core Mission 1: Acquiring and Preserving Our Heritage
LAC's first primary job is to acquire and preserve documents of historical value. This includes everything from government records and materials from Canadian publishers to private archives that help document Canadian society.
A key priority is ensuring the collection reflects all Canadians. The plan states a goal of building a collection where "all Canadians can see themselves" to foster pride and belonging. This involves actively seeking out materials from underrepresented communities.
Key Goals & Risks:
Growing the Digital Collection: LAC aims to have 17,000 terabytes (TB) of digital material preserved in its collection by March 31, 2026. As of 2023-24, it held 15,334 TB.
Aging Buildings: A significant risk identified in the plan is that aging facilities could put collections at risk of deterioration. To address this, LAC is undertaking major renovations, including replacing the roof and electrical systems at its main preservation facility.
Core Mission 2: Making History Accessible to You
The second part of LAC's job is providing Canadians with access to this incredible wealth of information, both online and in person at service points in Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, notes the importance of modern access:
LAC's user-centric focus for its services and programs will also extend to its other points of service, as well as to its online content. This will enable Canadians across the country to access and explore the national collections.
Key Goals & Statistics:
Digitization: The target for 2025-26 is to have 5.8 million images from the collection digitized for access. In 2023-24, 5.7 million images were digitized.
Access to Information (ATIP): LAC has an ambitious goal to process 70% of Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests by March 31, 2026, up from 55% in 2023-24.
Website Visitors: The goal is to reach 3 million unique visitors to LAC's website and online applications by March 2026. The number of visitors was 1.8 million in 2023-24.
Reconciliation and Inclusion
A strong theme throughout the plan is the commitment to reconciliation and ensuring diverse voices are part of Canada's official memory. LAC states it will continue to work with First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation.
Librarian and Archivist Leslie Weir states:
We will pursue our acquisition efforts, guided by input from a wide range of communities, including First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation. Similarly, we will continue to modernize the description of documents related to their communities... to maximize their discoverability. In addition, we will be working to increase the control that Indigenous Peoples have over documents concerning their histories.
The Plan in Numbers: Spending and Staffing 📝
For the 2025-26 fiscal year, Library and Archives Canada has a total planned spending of $208,150,119. This is how the spending is broken down by area:
Providing access to documentary heritage: $90,963,184
Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage: $72,927,691
Internal services (HR, IT, management, etc.): $44,259,244
The organization plans to have 1,061 full-time equivalent employees to carry out this work.
This plan provides a detailed roadmap for how our country will protect its shared stories and make them available for all of us to discover.
What are your takeaways from this plan? Which of these topics matters most to you and your community? Let us know below.