The system of national historic sites represents places, persons and events of national historic significance. The long-term goal is for the system to represent the breadth and diversity of Canadian history. Canada's system of national historic sites (including historic canals) consists of 956 places of national historic significance. Of these, 167 are administered directly by Parks Canada (please consult the accompanying text for a listing of these national historic sites broken down by province). The system also includes 648 national historic persons and 417 national historic events.