Overview

Archaeologists who carry out fieldwork in Ontario need to hold a valid archaeological licence. This is required under the Ontario Heritage Act.

We issue the three types of licences for archaeologists in Ontario and maintain a list of all provincially licensed archaeologists:

Archaeologists who provide consulting services in Ontario must hold a valid professional licence. Licensed archaeologists can apply to renew their licence at the end of their licence term. Licences may be renewed for up to three years at a time. Learn more about how to get an archaeological licence.

List of licensed archaeologists

The list of licensed archaeologists is for informational purposes only. It does not represent the ministry’s endorsement or recommendation.

Please report any errors or discrepancies in this list by e-mailing archaeology@ontario.ca. You should also report any person claiming to be a licensed archaeologist who is not listed here.

 

Disclaimer

The collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Ministry are governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31 (FIPPA). Under FIPPA subsection 2(3), personal information does not include the name, title, contact information or designation of an individual that identifies the individual in a business, professional or official capacity.

Hiring a consultant archaeologist

When you are looking to hire a consultant archaeologist it is important to find one suited to your needs.

Selecting an archaeologist with a good compliance record will help ensure:

  • your archaeological assessment is carried out in good order
  • they meet the reporting obligations quickly

Eligibility

Consultant archaeologists are eligible to begin new archaeological assessment projects in Ontario when they are in compliance with the Terms and Conditions of their licence.

The list of licensed archaeologists does not reflect the compliance standing of the archaeologist or whether they are currently eligible to begin new archaeological assessments.

For information about an archaeologist’s eligibility, please contact them directly.

Questions

Here are questions to ask when hiring a consultant archaeologist for your project.

  • Are you licensed to practice archaeology in Ontario?
    • Licensed archaeologists are issued licence cards which you can ask to see. Their names will also appear on this website in our list of licensed archaeologists.
  • Do you hold a professional archaeological licence?
    • There are three classes of archaeological licence in Ontario: avocational, applied research and professional. Only professional archaeologists can act as consultant archaeologists and carry out archaeological assessments.
  • Are there currently any conditions or limitations imposed on your licence?
  • Are you currently restricted from undertaking any specific archaeological fieldwork activities because of conditions on your licence?
  • How many times have fieldwork projects carried out under your licence (or by your company) failed ministry inspection?
  • What percentage of your (or your company’s) archaeological assessment reports pass ministry review without requiring revision?
  • How many times have your (or your company’s) reports been deemed ‘incomplete’ by the ministry?
    • The ministry will deem a report incomplete when it has not met the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists and either or both of the following are true:
      • A revised report is not filed with the ministry before the assigned deadline
      • The revised report doesn’t address all of the concerns identified to the ministry’s satisfaction.
  • How many instances of non-compliant fieldwork and reporting have you (or your company) had in the past?
    • The ministry will deem a report non-compliant when it has determined that severely incompetent or destructive fieldwork has occurred. The ministry will deem a report non-compliant as a measure of last resort and may choose to engage in additional discretionary rounds of revisions before doing so.
  • Are you currently eligible to begin new archaeological assessment projects in Ontario?
    • Archaeologists may be ineligible to begin new fieldwork due to overdue reports they owe the ministry.
  • How many projects similar to mine do you (or your company) undertake in a given year?
  • Are you able to complete my project on time while meeting all of the government’s standards for fieldwork and reporting?

Archaeological reports

After you’ve hired an archaeologist for your project, they will prepare reports for the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Culture and Tourism Industries.

The ministry reviews the reports to ensure that they meet the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists, including making appropriate recommendations for the archaeological sites they find.

Report results

We communicate the results of our report reviews by sending emails to the consultant archaeologist.

If the archaeologist has listed you as their client in their report, we will copy you on the emails that notify them that their report is either compliant or not compliant with the standards and guidelines.

You will not be copied on emails that request additional fieldwork or a revised report. However, you may wish to ask your consultant for copies of these.