$80,000 in Art Stolen from Government Buildings

Even Public Safety Canada was not safe from thieves. Silver lining: people value modern Canadian art?

According to official records at the Canada Council for the Arts, over $80,000 in art displayed in government buildings has gone missing from the Canada Council Art Bank. The world’s largest contemporary Canadian art collection, which loans out works to schools, hospitals, and government offices, says about 200 works of art have been stolen from government buildings in the last four decades. An additional $413,884 worth of art has been damaged beyond repair. CBC suffered the most with 16 art-related cases of theft, though Montreal’s Mirabel Airport may have the most embarrassing record. A painting it purchased for $5,570 was auctioned off after accidentally being placed in the lost-and-found by Transport Canada.