A planned 19,000-square-foot expansion to the MacBride Museum of Yukon History has taken a step closer to becoming reality thanks to a $6 million commitment from the federal and territorial governments.

The funding – with $3 million coming from the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund and a further commitment of $3 million from the Yukon government – was announced at the museum Monday afternoon.

“We’re quite excited about this,” MacBride’s chair Keith Halliday said.

MacBride’s executive director Patricia Cunning said the new space will mean the museum can put on display the nearly 70 per cent of artifacts now sitting in storage due to a lack of exhibit space currently.

The museum has 10,000 square feet of space to showcase its artifacts right now.

It was shortly after the last addition was made to the museum in 2007 that Cunning was already noting just how much more space would be needed to display all of the historical items officials would like to feature.

With four exhibition spaces in the three-story addition, there will be a focus in each area on a different part of the territory’s industrial history, she said. A fifth gallery will house Engine 51 of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. Engine 51 is slated to be the centerpiece of the new portion.

As Cunning described it will be the story of Whitehorse “as a working town”.

Meanwhile, the main building of the museum that visitors walk into now will feature an expanded exhibit detailing the history of local First Nations. A wall will be taken out to connect the current building with the additional space to be built.

Premier Darrel Pasloski was quick to point out the project will amount to 35 full-time equivalent jobs over a period of about two years.

And, he added, that’s not including the work that’s already been done on the design and planning.

It was just in February that the Yukon government ponied up $450,000 for the planning and design. With that design now done and funding secured, work can get underway building of the new space.

Entry into the expanded museum will be off Front Street at ground level, making accessibility easier for visitors.

While it’s expected the project will take about two years, Cunning would not set a specific target on when the new space would be open.

A tender on the construction will be put out in the coming weeks. After that museum officials will have a better idea of the timelines involved, Cunning and Halliday stressed.

The federal money is set to end March 31, at which time the territorial funding will kick in.

Throughout the announcement, officials stressed the important role museums and cultural spaces play in the territory.

Yukon MP Larry Bagnell – who made the federal announcement on behalf of Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Joly – described the project as a “legacy” that will draw tourists and residents for the years to come to take in the territory’s history.

He reflected on his political career, noting that working towards legacy projects like this is what he loves about the job.

The Canada Games Centre is one of those past initiatives and, Bagnell commented, it’s amazing to see how much the recreation complex continues to be used for a variety of activities and events, drawing both residents and visitors.

“I think this project’s going to be the same,” he said, stressing the important role museums play in the community.

“Museums provide knowledge and insight, pleasure and inspiration,” he said. “They function as an extension of our classrooms and as custodians of our collective memories.”

The addition will be built in a way that doesn’t impact regular operating hours of the museum, though as Cunning warned there may be times when things are a little loud. She also noted that anyone who had been hoping to book the museum’s courtyard for a wedding next summer will have to look for another location.

Halliday emphasized it’s important MacBride continue to operate as a year-round facility that’s open to visitors even as it undergoes a major addition.