Facing diminishing congregations and soaring maintenance costs, nearly one-third of Canada's 27,000 churches and faith-built spaces stand to close within the next decade.
A report from the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) highlights the urgent need for collaboration between both religious and secular leaders in order to preserve these spaces as critical community infrastructure.
"The loss of faith spaces means the loss of affordable places for child care, recreation, food banks, settlement services, and so much more" states Canadian Urban Institute CEO Mary W. Rowe. "This isn't just a challenge for faith groups—it's a crisis for communities everywhere."
The CUI report, called Sacred Places, Civic Value, examines why faith spaces matter to Main Streets and downtowns, why they matter to the future of Canadian communities, and presents a blueprint for action— urging government leaders, policymakers, and municipalities to recognize faith-built spaces as essential civic assets that should be preserved and repurposed for the benefit of local communities.
Heritage Ottawa strongly supports the recommendations of this report. CLICK HERE to see the report in its entirety.