Abstract: The protection of paleontological material occupies one of the central places in the field of preservation of objects of historical and cultural heritage. Each country has its own legal traditions and system for the protection of fossil sites on its territory. In this article, attention is paid to the legislative regulation of the search, collection and collecting of paleontological objects in Canada. The experience of this country is of particular interest for Russian practice. Unlike other countries, Russia and Canada are united by the similarity of climate, geography and natural conditions, the presence of permafrost and deposits with fossils. Therefore, the Canadian experience in the protection of paleontological objects deserves separate consideration.   Based on the analysis of the legislative acts of the provinces and territories of Canada, the article examines the features of legal regulation in this area and the organization of the state system for the protection of fossil remains. The novelty of the work lies in the fact that the focus of the study is on the formation and distribution of ownership rights to fossil objects and fossils. This allowed us to come to the following conclusions: all fossil objects, as a cultural and historical value, are owned by provinces and territories, which prevents their transformation into a commodity unit; the organization of the protection of paleontological objects has a horizontal structure, where the priority is not federal authorities, but provincial and territorial.