About Us

The Institute for Stained Glass in Canada is a not-for-profit educational society registered under the Societies Act of British Columbia.

We are a small group of photographers and researchers based in Vancouver, with collaborators in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Our Board includes several well-known British Columbians. The Institute has no commercial interest, and depends on support from heritage foundations and other sponsors. Please consider supporting our work on behalf of your province or community.

Mission Statement

Sponsors and Credits

We began to photograph stained glass in Canada in 2001 and have discovered an unexpectedly diverse ‘distributed collection’ in a wide range of public buildings. We estimate fine public windows in Canada to number well over 100,000 (with many more in private homes). There is as yet no comprehensive book describing Canada’s stained glass heritage.

We envision a progressively larger series of web-based projects, culminating in a comprehensive Stained Glass in Canada site, structured in collaboration with our counterparts in the West and in Ontario, Québec and the Maritime provinces. We hope our presence on the world wide web will lead to articles and books about this inexplicably neglected aspect of Canadian culture.

You and your organization are welcome to join in our work of documenting the Canadian presence in this ancient medium.