Maple Leaf Gardens was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 2007 because it was:
one of the most renowned "shrines" in the history of hockey... the largest arena in the country when it was built, it was one of the country's foremost venues for large-scale sporting events such as boxing matches and track meets, and non-sporting events such as concerts, rallies and political gatherings, religious services and opera... the Gardens holds a special place in the country's popular culture: here Canadians welcomed a wide range of cultural icons from the Beatles to the Metropolitan Opera, from Tim Buck to Team Canada vs. the Soviets, from Winston Churchill to the Muhammad Ali-George Chuvalo fight.

— Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 2006.

The arena was also designated under the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Toronto in 1991.
Maple Leaf Gardens was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 2007 because it was:
one of the most renowned "shrines" in the history of hockey... the largest arena in the country when it was built, it was one of the country's foremost venues for large-scale sporting events such as boxing matches and track meets, and non-sporting events such as concerts, rallies and political gatherings, religious services and opera... the Gardens holds a special place in the country's popular culture: here Canadians welcomed a wide range of cultural icons from the Beatles to the Metropolitan Opera, from Tim Buck to Team Canada vs. the Soviets, from Winston Churchill to the Muhammad Ali-George Chuvalo fight.
— Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 2006.
The arena was also designated under the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Toronto in 1991.
Maple Leaf Gardens