Step back into the excitement and pride of Canada’s first Olympic Games as the Bank of Canada Museum opens Montréal 1976: The legacy of the Olympic coins. This new exhibition explores how special collector coins helped fund the Montréal 1976 Olympics and became enduring symbols of national ambition and artistry.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Montréal Games, the exhibition tells the remarkable story of one of the largest and most ambitious commemorative coin programs ever created. Between 1973 and 1976, Canadians supported the Games by purchasing specially designed silver and gold coins—turning public enthusiasm into a powerful fundraising effort that raised a record-breaking $108 million.
“The Olympic Coin Program was novel in several ways,” said Curator David Bergeron. “Not only was it the first coin program created to support a major national project in Canada, but the coins themselves were the first ever struck in a large format to feature the spectacular designs from several Canadian artists.”
The exhibition uses remarkable objects—many on display for the first time—engaging storytelling and hands-on experiences to reveal how the coin program came to life and captured the imagination of Canadians. Visitors will discover how the coins were conceived, produced and collected and how this ambitious initiative transformed public enthusiasm for the Games into an unprecedented national fundraising effort. Highlights include complete sets from the Montréal Olympic Coin Program, including gold coins, as well as production material and public design submissions. An interactive design station invites visitors to create their own Olympic coin and add it to a collective display.
Montréal 1976: The legacy of the Olympic coins opens May 7, 2026, at the Bank of Canada Museum, and will be on view until March 22, 2027.
Admission to the Museum is always free.
Notes to editors:
- Contact Media Relations for interview requests.
- The Bank of Canada Museum is located at 30 Bank Street (at the corner of Wellington Street) in Ottawa, Ontario. The Museum is open seven days a week, from 10:00 to 17:00. Admission is always free.
- The Museum explains the Bank’s main areas of responsibility: setting monetary policy, promoting a sound financial system, issuing Canada’s bank notes, acting as fiscal agent for the Government of Canada and supervising retail payment service providers.
- It also manages the 130,000 artifacts in the National Currency Collection, the world’s most complete collection of Canadian currency and related artifacts.
- For more information about the Museum and its services, visit the website.
- Download pictures of the Museum and its exhibition on Flickr.
