A conversation with Sara MacKenzie (Ottawa Museums Network) and Christine McGuire (The Diefenbunker)
By Robin Etherington
SM & CM: We are working on ideas to mark the anniversary. Hopefully our network of museums will factor prominently in any plans by the city and the wider community. Each museum has unique stories to tell about Ottawa, from Indigenous origins, the earliest settlers, our agricultural history and military beginnings, to the Cold War and beyond. Please visit your community and municipal museums.
Sara MacKenzie, Executive Director of the Ottawa Museums Network (OMN), is a communications professional with over 23 years of experience in the federal public service, most recently as Director General of Strategic Communications for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Sara joined OMN in 2021 and volunteers with cultural heritage organizations.
Christine McGuire, Executive Director of the Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War Museum, Chair of OMN Board, and MA in Public History from Carleton University, was recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 business leaders by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade in 2024.
LE: What is the greatest challenge for Ottawa’s museums?
SM & CM: The greatest challenge is engaging with decision makers, making the case for investing in museums, and seeing that materialize in government budgets. It is very competitive to access public funds to operate museums today. We’re competing with complex social services like housing, public transit, and policing.
Operational funding from the province under its Community Museum Operating Grant (CMOG) and Heritage Organization Development Grant (HODG) has been stagnant for 17 years. With inflation, digital access requirements, climate impacts, aging infrastructure, and higher costs, it is an enormous task to keep museums operating despite efforts of staff and volunteers who persistently innovate.
Locally, with the city’s ongoing review of its Cultural Funding Framework, there is hope that we will see better processes and access to funding for museum operations.
We see funding opportunities from multiple levels of government for projects – digitization, multiculturalism, and supporting Indigenous heritage – but these are time-limited funds that cannot be used for operations.
There is a lack of recognition of the role of community museums in the local economy and well-being of citizens. Museums create a sense of belonging and bring diverse communities together to preserve stories and create social cohesion, something that’s needed more than ever today.
LE: What is the Ottawa Museum Network’s relationship with the City of Ottawa?
SM & CM: The OMN is made up of seven professional community museums and five city-owned museums. We are funded primarily by the City of Ottawa through a Heritage Service Agreement which provides operational funds from the municipality’s cultural funding framework. Community museums have excellent relationships with city staff. We see great support from councillors who have museums in their wards. The OMN was created in 2007 following council’s endorsement of the City of Ottawa Museum Sustainability Plan, as a not-for-profit to support both community and city museums with marketing, revenue generation, and professional development, and to coordinate cross-museum services and projects.
LE: What are the funding streams for the Ottawa Museums Network?
SM & CM: The OMN, including all community museums such as the Diefenbunker, the Bytown Museum, and Muséoparc Vanier, have a multi-year service agreement with the city that gives us an annual operating grant from the city’s cultural funding envelope. Provincially, the OMN receives HODG, and some community and city museums receive CMOG. We constantly apply for project grants. City and community museums have gift shops, memberships, admissions, and donations.
LE: How do you see Ottawa’s museums sector in five years?
SM & CM: It’s hard to predict five years away due to lack of historical investment in museums, inflation, and three elections scheduled in 2025-2026. Several factors influence our future. Museums will become stronger community hubs. The public will speak up more about governments supporting the community museums that serve them on a daily basis.
However, museums are regulated by governmental funding requirements. They require museums to be leaders in truth and reconciliation, diversity and inclusion, mental health and accessibility, and to keep up with technology with no increase in government resources. Culture needs to be considered consistently within the economic development dialogue, as it contributes to the economy and social well-being.
LE: How do Ottawa museums keep up with technology needs?
SM & CM: It is crucial that museums adopt and integrate new technologies, especially to enhance visitor experience, improve operations, and preserve our collections.
Through a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2022-2023, the OMN was able to offer professional development training to build capacity in various areas of technology, equipment use, and digital content creation. Community museums were outfitted with digital tools for photography, video, podcasting, and more. The OMN purchased a large format scanner/printer to enable in-house digitizing and printing, saving museums time and money.
LE: How do you plan to celebrate Ottawa’s 200th anniversary in 2026-2027?
SM & CM: We are working on ideas to mark the anniversary. Hopefully our network of museums will factor prominently in any plans by the city and the wider community. Each museum has unique stories to tell about Ottawa, from Indigenous origins, the earliest settlers, our agricultural history and military beginnings, to the Cold War and beyond. Please visit your community and municipal museums.
