Anúncios
Money gets forgotten in Canada more often than most people think: a savings account left behind after a move, a tax refund cheque sent to an old address, a bank draft that was never deposited, a credit union account from a first job. When the owner cannot be found, that money does not disappear. It is handed to a public body that keeps a list of names anyone can search.
This guide shows where those lists are, how to search them for free and how to claim if you find a match. It cannot tell you whether you have money waiting. Most people who search find nothing, and that is normal. But the check takes a few minutes and costs nothing on the official sites.
The short answer
| Type of money | Where to search | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Old bank or trust company account, GIC, bank draft, money order | Bank of Canada, Unclaimed Properties Office | Free |
| Uncashed tax refund or benefit cheque | CRA My Account, Uncashed cheques | Free |
| Credit union accounts, wages, deposits, estates and more in Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia or New Brunswick | The provincial registry (table on page 2) | Free to search |
| Unclaimed dividends from a bankruptcy | Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy | Check with the office |
One rule covers all of them: you never need to pay anyone to search. If a person or a company asks for money before telling you what they found, stop there. Page 3 explains how these offers work.
Where should you search?
Each type of money ends up in a different place, and the province matters too. Answer the two questions below to see the official site that fits your case.
How much is being held
These figures show the size of the lists, not what any one person will find. They come from the official sites:
- Bank of Canada: about 3.6 million unclaimed bank balances worth $1.60 billion as of December 31, 2025. In 2025 it paid 1,937 claims worth $20.0 million in total.
- Canada Revenue Agency: 10,985,540 uncashed cheques worth about $1.88 billion as of October 2026. Since February 2020, Canadians have cashed more than 5.8 million of them.
- BC Unclaimed: over $222 million waiting to be claimed, according to its own site.
How long the money is kept
| Who holds it | How long you have |
|---|---|
| Bank of Canada | Balances under $1,000: 30 years. Balances of $1,000 or more: 100 years. After that, the money goes to the Receiver General for Canada. |
| CRA cheques | Government of Canada cheques never expire. An old one can still be cashed at a Canadian financial institution at no charge. |
| Revenu Quebec | Each item stays in the register for a period set by Quebec regulation. Search early and check the time limit with Revenu Quebec. |
| Alberta | Claims must be made within 10 years of the date the province received the property. |
| BC Unclaimed | No deadline for the funds it holds. |
