The Canadian Museum of History originates from the collecting efforts of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), an organization established in 1842 in Montreal.

[2] In 1877, the museum mandate was formally expanded to include the study of modern fauna and flora, in addition to human history, languages, and traditions.

[2] In the following year, management of the museum was handed over from the GSC to the Department of Mines, with the mandate formally expanded to include anthropological studies.

Under Sapir's direction, the institution's research initially focused on Aboriginal communities across Canada they believed were imperilled by rapid acculturation.

[6] Since this period, the museum had become a centre for Canadian anthropology, having attracted notable anthropologists including Diamond Jenness after the Second World War.

[14] In October 2012, James Moore, the minister of Canadian Heritage announced the ministry would provide $25 million to overhaul the museum and renovate Canada Hall.

[21] The updated gallery was completed at approximately $30 million and was opened on Canada Day in 2017 by Charles, Prince of Wales and Mélanie Joly, the minister of Canadian Heritage.

[11] The site is bounded by the western access point for the Alexandra Bridge, the Ottawa River to the east, a paper production plant to the south, and Laurier Street to the west.

The two wings wrap around and are connected by a large hemispherical entrance plaza which contains its food services, lounge, library, and underground parking.

[4] Cardinal sought to create form a "sculptural icon" for the country, encouraged by then-prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, to develop a symbol that "enshrined our cultures".

[11] Cardinal's design for the building was largely influenced by his understanding of how geography helped shaped Canada's history and culture.

[31] The building's exterior is clad with 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) of Tyndall stone;[4] with the material being selected because of its durability and its relationship with glaciers.

[26] Cardinal sought to build a structure that appeared to be "flowing with the contours of the land," and simple lines and forms could be used to display the idea of movement.

[25] From certain angles, the building appears as two separate pavilions, with an opening between these two sections providing an unobstructed view of Parliament Hill from Laurier Street.

Windows were triple-glazed and coated with a film that helps contain radiant heat and reduce solar ultraviolet rays, and the southern wing's Grand Hall was intentionally designed to face direct sunlight only in the morning.

[4] Many of the exhibits that were designed in the 1980s for the new building were influenced by the director of the museum, George F. MacDonald, his personal admiration for Pacific Northwest Coast art and culture, and the communication theories of his mentor, Marshall McLuhan.

Additionally, many of these archaeological exhibits are designed to confront the notion of Eurasian technological supremacy at the time of first contact with the Americas.

[44] The curatorial model used to develop the exhibition conformed to the suggestions provided in the 1992 recommendations from the federal Task Force on Museums and First Peoples.

Canadian History Hall is approximately 4,690 square metres (50,500 sq ft), and includes over 14 projectors and 58 screens used in the exhibition.

[48] Canadian History Hall's galleries centre around a hub that was designed by Douglas Cardinal to resemble Chaudière Falls.

[49] The galleries are designed to showcase events and "turning points" in each respective era through the multimedia presentations and the artifacts on display.

[23] The exhibition takes a largely didactic approach with its subject and is particularly focused on the country's political and economic history, as well as the experience of Indigenous peoples.

[24] According to the exhibit team's head, David Morrison, Indigenous peoples and their relationship with newcomers will serve as an important overarching theme of Canadian History Hall.

[48] Historic artifacts include a 3,600 to 3,900 years old ivory carving believed to be the oldest representation of a human face found in Canada; James Wolfe coat; and handcuffs worn by Louis Riel prior to his execution; Maurice Richard's hockey jersey; Terry Fox's T-shirt; Tommy Douglas's hat; the table on which the proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 was signed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982; Randy Bachman's guitar, and the sewing machine which Joan O'Malley sewed the first Maple Leaf flag.

[50] The gallery aimed to promote Canadian multiculturalism, having portrayed a social history that depicted a "march of immigrants" from east to west, and the success of different groups in Canada.

[24] However, these modules provided little in-depth consideration for pre-colonial Indigenous cultures, which were only explored in the museum's other exhibitions prior to Canada Hall's updates in the 2010s.

As of June 2021, the Canadian Museum of History's permanent collection includes more than three million artifacts, documents, works of art, and other specimens.

The collection continued to expand after the anthropology department was established in 1910, and the museum began a systematic program of documenting Indigenous cultures and lineages.

[68] Other notable items in the museum's permanent collection includes a Contempra phone, the first telephone to be designed and manufactured in Canada;[69] cough syrup from the 1918 influenza pandemic;[70] the original plaster for Bill Reid's Spirit of Haida Gwaii;[71] ten large heraldic sculptures known as The Queen's Beasts;[72] and royal gown worn by Elizabeth II during her royal tours of Canada.

[79] In 2021, the Canadian Museum of History entered into an agreement to house and maintain artifacts from Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.