What Musée McCord Stewart does

Musée McCord Stewart is a private, non-profit social history museum anchored in downtown Montreal at 690 Sherbrooke Ouest, operating continuously for over 100 years. It is one of North America's leading social history museums, holding six collections totaling 3.2 million images, objects, documents, and works of art — notably the UNESCO-recognized Notman Photographic Archives, an Indigenous cultures collection of 16,000+ artifacts, and a costume/fashion/textiles collection spanning roughly three centuries. The museum is also the product of a merger between the McCord Museum and the Stewart Museum, now operating under a single institutional brand.

The institution's core products are temporary and permanent exhibitions, educational and cultural programming, and a growing digital footprint: a public collections platform exposing 185,000+ items (with approximately 155,000 rights-free high-resolution downloads), the EncycloModeQC online encyclopedia on Quebec fashion, and a multimedia companion microsite for the permanent Indigenous Voices exhibition. Its technology stack is primarily content-management, e-commerce ticketing (Logikpos), and member-portal infrastructure rather than AI- or data-platform-native. It is currently renovating its ground floor to improve accessibility and visitor flow.

The business model is a hybrid of earned and contributed revenue. Earned income comes from tiered admission (adults $20 online / $22 at door; discounts for seniors and students; free for youth 17 and under, Indigenous community members, and members), a two-tier membership program ($35–$65 Entrées illimitées; $135–$265 Accès exclusif with ROAM network access), group bookings, and tourism distribution partnerships. Contributed income comes from an annual fundraising campaign targeting $250,000, four major annual benefit events (Grand Bal du Musée, Bal Sucré with 700+ attendees, Vin et bouchées Made in ICI, Cocktail de reconnaissance) — which the museum states generate approximately 50% of revenue — corporate partnerships with a small group of Grand partenaires (TD, Power Corporation, Reitmans, BMO, Government of Quebec, Caisse de dépôt, Scotiabank, Canada Life), and planned-giving and major-gift programs. Customers span families, K-12 and post-secondary school groups, Indigenous communities, corporate groups, seniors, tourists, and Francisation newcomers.

Name

Musée McCord Stewart

Legal name

Musée McCord Stewart

Website

https://musee-mccord-stewart.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Musée McCord Stewart is a 100+ year-old non-profit social history museum in downtown Montreal holding 3.2 million collection items across six collections, serving families, school groups, Indigenous communities, tourists, and corporate partners via exhibitions, educational programming, memberships, and benefit events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours (THAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Social history museum
• Cultural exhibitions
• Educational programming
• Museum collections
• Heritage conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: The museum generates revenue through admission ticket sales at $20 for adults online (higher at door), with various discounts for seniors ($19), students ($15), and free admission for youth 17 and under, Indigenous community members, and museum members. Special exhibition fees apply on Wednesday evenings.
2. Museum Memberships: Annual and biennial subscription memberships offering unlimited exhibition access. Entrées illimitées tier at $35 (1 year) / $65 (2 years); Accès exclusif tier at $135 (1 year) / $265 (2 years) with guest passes, ROAM network access, event invitations, and partner discounts.
3. Annual Fundraising Campaign: Annual campaign targeting $250,000 in donations from individual and corporate donors, with recognition tiers offering various privileges including event invitations, naming in annual report, and guided exhibition tours.
4. Benefit Events: Major fundraising events including Grand Bal du Musée, Bal Sucré (700+ attendees), Vin et bouchées Made in ICI, and Cocktail de reconnaissance. These events generate approximately 50% of the museum's revenue.
5. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate donations and sponsorship arrangements with major partners including TD, Power Corporation, Reitmans, BMO, and others. Corporate partnership tiers range from $1,000 to $25,000+ with benefits including event tickets, guided tours, and recognition.
6. Planned Giving and Major Gifts: Planned giving programs, stock donations, and major gift solicitation from individual philanthropists. Monthly giving program available with various recognition levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Musée McCord Stewart operates a social history museum in Montreal, presenting permanent and temporary exhibitions drawn from 3.2 million collection items spanning Indigenous cultures, costume and textiles, documentary art, photography, archives, and material culture. The museum sells admission tickets, memberships, group/school visits, and benefit-event experiences, and it provides educational, cultural, and citizen programming anchored in Quebec curriculum and community partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Résonance: Blog featuring perspectives on social history of Montreal and museum collections

Products and services

• Museum Admission Tickets
• Museum Memberships
• School and Group Visits
• Private and Corporate Group Bookings
• Benefit Events and Fundraising Galas
• Volunteer Program
• Archives and Documentation Centre Services
• Voix autochtones d'aujourd'hui: savoir, trauma, résilience (Permanent Exhibition)
• Céline en Dior : un moment éblouissant (Temporary Exhibition)
• Montréal 1976 : une épreuve olympique (Temporary Exhibition)
• Au menu. Montréal : une histoire de restaurants (Temporary Exhibition)
• Au-delà des Jeux : l'histoire olympique de Montréal (Digital Exhibition)
• Online Collections Platform
• EncycloModeQC

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% of museum revenue generated through benefit events and donor support
• +2 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• ReitmansflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2026Reitmans has a two-year partnership with the McCord Stewart Museum, announced as part of their centennial celebrations. Reitmans is a Grand partenaire (major partner) of the museum. The partnership includes collaboration on fashion-related programming and exhibitions.
• TD (Groupe Banque TD)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerTD is the Grand partenaire (major partner) of the museum and presenter/sponsor of Indigenous Cultures Programming. TD also funds the creation of a conservation assistant position for Indigenous cultures collection. The museum's Indigenous exhibition 'Voix autochtones d'aujourd'hui' is presented by TD with Radio-Canada as official broadcaster.
• Power Corporation du CanadaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPower Corporation is the Grand partenaire (major partner) of the museum, specifically sponsoring the Montréalité programming component. Also supports the Ruelle du Musée (urban alley) renovation through FONDS OVI.
• Government of QuebeccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Government of Quebec is a Grand partenaire (major partner), providing institutional support and funding through the Ministry of Culture and Communications for exhibitions including the permanent Indigenous Voices exhibition.
• BMO Groupe FinanciercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBMO sponsors free Wednesday evening admission (after 5 PM) at the museum. Also supports accessibility programming through BMO's contribution to the free admission program.
• Fondation J.A. DeSèvecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFondation J.A. DeSève sponsors free admission for children 12 years and under, enabling family accessibility to the museum.
• Fondation RossycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFondation Rossy sponsors free admission for teenagers 13-17 years old and supports the Rossy Education Space (new mediation space with three multipurpose rooms).
• Azrieli FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAzrieli Foundation contributes to the first Sunday of each month accessibility program supporting the 'Pay what you can' free admission initiative.
• Radio-Canada (CBC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerRadio-Canada is the official broadcaster (Diffuseur officiel) for Indigenous Cultures Programming and the 'Voix autochtones d'aujourd'hui' exhibition. Also collaborated on 'L'Histoire crochée' podcast series.
• Hydro-QuébeccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHydro-Québec presents the 'Natu-natshishkueu: L'aventure de la rencontre' family activity in the Indigenous Voices exhibition, supporting Indigenous cultural programming.
• ROAM (Reciprocal Organization of Associated Museums)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorROAM is a partnership network of 300+ North American museums enabling reciprocal free or reduced admission for members of participating institutions. McCord Stewart members receive access to museums including Musée de la civilisation and Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec.
• Montreal Indigenous Community NON-ProfitsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum works with Indigenous communities including through Indigenous Advisory Committee (Philippe Meilleur, Nadia Myre, Melissa Mollen Dupuis, Karine Awashish) and ongoing decolonization initiatives. Communities participate in exhibition co-creation and collection interpretation.
• Conseil des arts de MontréalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting partner for museum programming and cultural activities.
• Canada LifecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCanada Life sponsors subsidized school visits, enabling educational access for students across Quebec.
• ScotiabankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerScotiabank sponsors the francisation program supporting French language integration for newcomers to Quebec through museum cultural programming.
• Caisse de dépôt et placement du QuébeccoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports educational workshops 'Prendre soin de nos histoires à Montréal/Tiohtia:ke' and the strengthening fund for Montreal. Major donor for Centenary Fund 2021-2022.
• FONDS OVI (Zhao-Ionescu Family Foundation)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports the Ruelle du Musée (urban alley) project at Victoria Street, creating a green space in downtown Montreal.
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchives and Documentation Centre is an accredited private archives service (service d'archives privées agréé) under BAnQ's oversight.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Quintessential Montreal fine arts institution with similar membership tiers, benefit-event fundraising, and downtown tourism positioning. Overlaps on fashion exhibitions and corporate sponsorship pool, though focused on fine art rather than social history.
• Royal Ontario Museum: One of Canada's largest multidisciplinary museums with strong collection scale, special exhibitions, and educational programming. Comparable in operating model and tier, though much larger and broader in scope.
• Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau): National social history museum covering Canadian history on a larger scale. Comparable curatorial mission, school programming, and Indigenous engagement, but federally funded and significantly larger in scope and budget than McCord Stewart.

Direct peers

• Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec: Quebec's flagship art museum; direct comparable in operating model, governance, and bilingual programming. Competes for cultural tourism, major exhibitions, and Quebec government funding, and shares ROAM reciprocal access.
• Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21: National immigration museum in Halifax with a social-history mission, oral history focus, and educational programming. Comparable interpretive approach and target audience of families and school groups seeking experiential cultural learning.
• Musée de la civilisation (Quebec City): Quebec City social history museum with similar thematic focus on Quebec society, Indigenous cultures, and rotating exhibitions. Comparable revenue model combining admissions, memberships, and government funding, and overlaps in ROAM reciprocal network.
• Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex: Montreal's archaeology and history museum directly competes for local history visitors, school groups, and tourism share. Operates a comparable ticket/membership/event model in the same city and shares tourist itineraries with McCord Stewart.
• Stewart Museum (now merged into McCord Stewart): Pre-merger counterpart institution focused on material culture and Montreal history; the two combined to form today's McCord Stewart, and the prior Stewart Museum compares directly in subject matter and audience.

Regional players

• Royal BC Museum: British Columbia's social history museum with a comparable collection-driven, exhibition-and-education model. Operates in a different geography but mirrors the social-history mandate, Indigenous engagement, and digitization initiatives.

Emerging players

• Canadian Photography Institute (at the National Gallery of Canada): Institutional platform for photographic heritage collection and exhibition that intersects with the Notman Photographic Archives at McCord Stewart. Comparable digitization initiatives and curatorial focus, though broader in mandate and federally supported.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Musée McCord Stewart