The Canada Garden marks a change for the 5,500-square-metre Plaza that is the foreground of the spectacular Canadian Museum of Civilization. In recent years, the gardens on the Plaza had been replanted annually to reflect changing themes based on the Museum's special exhibitions. The new Canada Garden now serves as a permanent living tribute to the country's native flora and geography.
 

The Garden also celebrates the interaction of nature and culture with the display of eight dynamic sculptures by notable Canadian artists of the 1970s and 1980s, on loan from the Canada Council Art Bank. The sculptures were chosen by Museum and Art Bank representatives and the Garden's landscape architect, and they will be on display for two years. The works are by artists from across the country and represent diverse aspects of the Canadian imagination.

All of the plants in the Garden are native to Canada and have been chosen for their significance to Canadians throughout history. Native flora has played a major role in our evolution as a country. Plants have been important sources of food and medicine, native trees are still the basis for much industry, and many plants and flowers have acquired symbolic importance for Canadians. The Canada Garden features each of the provincial and territorial flowers. It includes other key species such as Labrador tea, the Arctic poppy, the pin cherry, the Christmas fern, lily of the valley, the large-leaved aster, the jack pine, trembling aspen and the sugar maple, as well as a variety of herbaceous shrubs.

The Plaza is an integral part of the Museum's universally celebrated architecture, designed by Douglas Cardinal, and the new garden design respects the building's contours and sightlines and preserves the view across the Plaza and the Ottawa River.