Art Competition

• Canadian citizens and landed immigrants are eligible to participate in the art competition at the invitation of Wildlife Habitat Canada. If the participant is under the age of 18, a letter of consent signed by the parent(s) or legal guardian is required and must accompany the confirmation of intent to participate.
• Persons who have previously won the art competition during the preceding three (3) years, are ineligible to submit an entry in the current year’s art competition (E.g. if you won the 2021 Art Competition, the next time you can compete is the 2025 Art Competition).
• Members of the art competition judging panel, employees and members of the Board of Directors of Wildlife Habitat Canada, employees of the Federal Department of the Environment or Members of Parliament and their immediate families and relatives are ineligible to submit an entry.

STEP 1
Review our Art Competition Info Package

STEP 2
Read, sign and submit Intent to Participate Form  (before August 2, 2024)

STEP 3
Start painting!

STEP 4
The following items must be submitted and received by WHC upon deadline:
• Painting submission including painting title
• One signed copy of the 2026 Wildlife Habitat Canada – Art Agreement

Please note:

• Missing any of these steps and/or deadlines may disqualify your painting submission. Please contact us immediately if you think you will miss a deadline.
• We encourage everyone to use our online process as much as possible to ensure accuracy, reduce paper waste, and avoid delayed mailings.
• Please email Jennifer at jcollard@whc.org when you are ready to ship your painting.

Although the Art Competition is by invitation only, Wildlife Habitat Canada welcomes new Canadian wildlife artists that may be interested in submitting a piece to the competition.

For new Canadian wildlife artists wishing to participate in the competition, please send an artist CV and website link where your artwork can be viewed (or provide samples of your work) to kgraham@whc.org.

Submit your 2026 Art Competition entry fee by clicking here .

• Invited artists must submit only one (1) original entry.
• Entries must be an original multi-coloured painting in the artist’s choice of medium (no reproductions).
  • Please Note: Pastel submissions will no longer be accepted (as of 2018) due to the fragile nature of the piece and challenges associated with the reproduction of Stamp products.
  • Please Note: at this time we are accepting original paintings and are not currently accepting digital painting pieces.
• Submissions must be one of the following to be accepted;
  (1)12” x 18”,
  (2) 12” x 16”,
  (3) 11”x 14”, or
  (4) 6” x 8”
• The painting must portray the eligible waterfowl species / migratory game bird in its breeding plumage and natural habitat during breeding season.
• The habitat of the species must be clearly defined. A landscape design must be incorporated into the painting along with the traditional image of the waterfowl.

• The painting must be painted in such a way that the painting (or the cropped portion of the painting) can effectively be reduced to Stamp size and Print size:
  o The Stamp size: 1 1/4″ x 2″
  o The Print size: 6 1/2″ x 9″
• Sufficient tranquil area must be provided around the eligible bird to allow for the placement of required Stamp text (see Stamp Crop Example of the 2016 winning painting, below):
• “Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp
  [YEAR]
  Timbre sur la conservation des habitats fauniques du Canada
  $8.50″

Stamp Crop Example
Original Submission with Crop Outline

Stamp Reproduction of the Cropped Painting

• A minimum of five independent judges are selected for the panel, including an ornithologist, past Conservation Stamp artist winner, and a representative of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
• Judging criteria includes:
  • Anatomical and habitat accuracy as depicted in breeding plumage and season;
  • Artistic composition;
  • Originality;
  • Technical suitability for reproduction as a Stamp and a lithographic Print.

• 2026 Art Competition Info Package 
• 2026 Wildlife Habitat Canada-Art Agreement
• 2026 Winning Artist Licensing Agreement
• Species Information Document