About Movable Cultural Property

Cultural property may be anything from paintings and sculptures, to books and manuscripts, to ethnographic and decorative art material, to scientific objects and musical instruments. It must be movable and does not need to be Canadian in origin.

The Movable Cultural Property Program supports the preservation of Canada's artistic, historic and scientific heritage through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. The provisions of the Act help to ensure that cultural property of outstanding significance and national importance remains in Canada by:

• designating Canadian organizations to preserve cultural property and make it accessible to the public;
• providing tax incentives that encourage Canadians to donate or sell important cultural property to designated organizations;
• awarding grants to help with the purchase of cultural property;
• regulating the exports of cultural property; and
• regulating the import of cultural property.

The Program administers the designation, grants, export and import elements of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. The Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board is responsible for the tax incentives component, and reviews refused export permits. The Review Board is an independent administrative tribunal that reports to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Key partners

The Movable Cultural Property Program works closely with the Canada Border Services Agency to enforce and administer the Act. The Program also collaborates with the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada and other federal departments and agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Cultural Property Export and Import Act - Annual reports

View the annual reports about the administration of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.

• Annual report 2022-2023
  [PDF version - 950 KB]
• Annual report 2021-2022
  [PDF version - 696 KB]
• Annual report 2020-2021
  [PDF version - 1.25 MB]
• Annual report 2019-2020
  [PDF version - 433 KB]
• Annual report 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-19
  [PDF version - 483 KB]
• Annual report 2015-2016
  [PDF version, 259 KB]

Contact the Movable Cultural Property Program

If you have any questions or comments regarding designated organizations, grants, or export and import of cultural property, contact the Movable Cultural Property Program.