The Ontario government is investing up to $50 million over three years to update and expand the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (McMichael) facility and grounds in Kleinburg, Ont. (just north of Toronto). The capital funding is dedicated to preserving one of the country’s largest collections of Canadian – including Group of Seven – and Indigenous art for future generations.

Ontario’s capital investment in the McMichael is the first in 43 years and will support much-needed repairs and upgrades to the 70-year-old building and increase capacity for its existing programs, meetings and special events.

“The McMichael Canadian Art Collection celebrates the Canadian and Indigenous experience, with our culture, history and heritage expressed through art,” said Ontario Minister of Tourism, Stan Cho. “Our government’s investment will help McMichael modernize and grow, protect the gallery’s $750-million collection and secure the institution’s status as a world class cultural tourism attraction for generations to come.

“Now more than ever, it’s important that we support Canadian culture and the institutions that preserve and promote our shared history and collective identity.”

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is now the largest publicly funded art gallery that focuses exclusively on Canadian and Indigenous art, with a permanent collection of more than 7,000 artworks by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, as well as First Nations, Métis, Inuit and contemporary artists who have contributed to the development of the art of Canada.

Ontario’s capital investment is contingent on matching funding from the federal government and private donations. On March 3, the Government of Canada announced $25 million in support of McMichael’s redevelopment through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program.

History

In 1965, Robert and Signe McMichael offered to donate their collection – as well as their home and land in Kleinburg – to the Province of Ontario. Eight months later, on July 8, 1966, the “McMichael Conservation Collection of Art” officially opened to the public.

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