The national historic significance of Grosse Île was first recognized in 1974 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC). A commemorative plaque laid in 1980 "pays tribute to the role of Grosse Île as a human quarantine station (1832 to 1937), especially during the great cholera and typhus epidemics that marked Canadian immigration in the first half of the 19th century."
The Corporation pour la mise en valeur de Grosse-Île began offering its first tours of the island in the mid-1980s. Grosse Île National Historic Site of Canada opened its doors to visitors in the early 1990s. At that time, a restoration program was launched with a view to enabling visitors to relive the quarantine experience. The themes developed for interpretation purposes have included immigration to Canada via the port of Québec, the Irish tragedy of 1847, and the exceptional dedication of the people who worked on the island. Today, Grosse Île receives more than 20,000 visitors annually, from mid-May to mid-October.
