1972 - Canadian Conservation Institute established

"To have national treasures to display at all, means that we must maintain and restore them...As a whole, the national cultural heritage is in such a state of neglect that if remedial action is not taken quickly, the value of the collections will diminish greatly in the next ten years...We have prepared an immediate plan of action: the establishment of a Canadian Conservation Institute..."

Gerard Pelletier, Minister of Communications, 1972 (speaking at the Calgary Canadian Club)

1974 - In-house conservator training program begins
- Rock art research begins
- First on-site analysis (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of church trade silver in Quebec)

1975 - Quebec Conservation Centre opens in Quebec City

1976 - In-house conservator training program ends

1978 - Regional labs close
- Symposium 78: Furniture and Wooden Objects
- Adhesive testing begins