Success Stories

Keeping significant cultural property in Canada

Canada does not prohibit the export of cultural property. However, under the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, it does control this process, by requiring that cultural property export permits be issued for objects included in the Canadian Cultural Property Export Control List. The purpose of these controls and of the appeal's process to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board is to create a time-frame during which Canadian institutions are given the opportunity to acquire significant items of cultural property that would otherwise leave Canada. By offering interested designated Canadian institutions financial assistance for the purchase of such items, the Department's Movable Cultural Property Grants Program also exists to achieve this purpose. Here is a partial list of significant cultural property that, through the export controls process and the grants program; institutions all around the country have successfully been able to keep in Canada.

• Billy Bishop's War Medals saved by the National Aviation Museum
• Tom Thomson painting repatriated
• HMCS Titanic furniture
• ROM acquires rare mineral specimen
• Art Gallery of Ontario acquires Boucher drawing
• ROM has only Frank Lloyd Wright furniture in a Canadian museum
• CMC scores with the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard collection
• National Archives of Canada Acquires Rare Collection of Canadiana
• Celebrate the 400th anniversary of French settlement in Canada
• The Jade Suit of Princess Douwan