National Trust Conference comes to Fredericton in October
The annual National Trust Conference is Canada’s largest heritage learning and networking event. Held in a different part of Canada every year, this national conference brings together a wide-range of people keeping Canada’s heritage alive: from grassroots volunteers, professionals and planners, to elected officials, policy makers, and students. This year, the National Trust Conference will take place in Fredericton, New Brunswick, from October 18-20.

The 2018 National Trust Conference will explore the transformative power of heritage to help turn places around, galvanize communities, and create fresh options. Bringing together the cutting-edge of heritage thought and practice – in Canada and abroad – the conference will emphasize interdisciplinary insights on such diverse topics as heritage-led development, sustainability, museum/historic site regeneration, and Indigenous heritage.
Opportunity Knocks is inspired by Fredericton, a vibrant mid-sized city renowned for its east coast warmth and charm. Home to one of the first universities in North America, Fredericton also boasts a world-class art collection, a vibrant farmers’ market, and a historic garrison district – all woven into the fabric of a picturesque downtown on the banks of the Saint John River.
This year’s National Trust Conference features many workshops/sessions of interest to architects. Here is just a sampling:
- Plenary session with architectural historians Daniel Abramson (Boston University) and Annmarie Adams (McGill University) on turning the tide on our culture of disposable buildings
- Concurrent sessions exploring adaptive reuse, heritage buildings and sustainability, conserving sites of conscience, covered bridges and lighthouses
- Special workshop on Implementing Digital Heritage Inventories and Surveys led by the Getty Conservation Institute and Survey Los Angeles
A full list of speakers and events for the three-day event has now been published on the conference website, with registration information also available. More information about this year’s National Trust Conference is available here.