$100m Now Pledged to Revamp Canada’s Home of Indigenous Art

The Canadian federal government has doubled its investment in the rebuilding of the McMichael, one of the world’s most prestigious collections of Canadian and Indigenous art.

In an announcement made during Art Toronto last week, the government pledged an additional CAD $25million through its Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) programme, on top of the CAD $25 million it allocated in March 2025. The Government of Ontario has also given the project CAD $50 million, in addition to contributions from private donors, while Art Toronto’s opening night benefit also raised funds for the McMichael. 

Jennifer McKelvie, parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing and infrastructure, said: “By doubling our support for the McMichael, we are confirming the importance of Canadian culture and ensuring it continues to inspire for generations to come.”

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, built in the 1950s in Kleinburg, Toronto and last upgraded during the 1980s, will be transformed by the renovation and expansion project, which will create more space for events, conservation and educational programmes—including 30 percent more space for permanent collections and special exhibitions, and enhanced back-of-house facilities.

The McMichael is the only publicly funded art gallery in Canada dedicated exclusively to Canadian and Indigenous art. The permanent collection comprises more than 7,500 artworks, including pieces by the Group of Seven (1920–1933, formerly known as the Algonquin School), Tom Thomson, and works on paper from the Inuit community of Kinngait (Cape Dorset). It is also the custodian of the Kinngait Archive, more than 89,000 artworks held in trust for the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op.

Sarah Milroy, executive director and chief curator at the McMichael, said: “Our project is an investment in the future of Canada and in the art that shapes who we are and how we see ourselves as a nation.”

She added: “We are reimagining the McMichael as a 21st-century museum that celebrates our rich artistic heritage, fosters creativity, lives in harmony with nature and inspires generations to come.”

Amid ongoing global financial turmoil, and 50 percent tariffs imposed by the US on Canadian original artwork, this year’s Art Toronto (29 October–1 November), Canada’s oldest and largest international art fair, adopted a “Canada first” approach under the leadership of its new director, Emily-Jean Alexander. 

Of the 105 galleries taking part, only three were based in the US. However, new initiatives including the “Ready to Collect” art advisory desk and an emerging collectors’ evening were designed to encourage a new generation of Canadian collectors to support home-grown artists and galleries and to create a sustainable art market in the country.