This is the shocking moment a vandal hurled pink paint over a priceless Picasso painting in Canada.

The activist, affiliated with Last Generation Canada, smeared paint on the 1901 work L'Hetaire at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) on the morning of Thursday, June 19.

Montreal police confirmed that an individual was arrested on charges of mischief following the incident and later released with a summons to appear in court.

Museum officials said that the painting was protected by a glass case and that no immediate damage was apparent to the artwork itself, which is on loan from an Italian gallery.

The incident is part of a three-week protest campaign by the group, which has previously painted the Montreal casino pink, blocked Rue Saint-Denis, and defaced the BMO Museum, leading to the detention of 12 supporters.

MMFA director Stephane Aquin expressed that he was 'deeply dismayed' by the event.

He added: 'It is most unfortunate that this act carried out in the name of environmental activism targeted a work belonging to our global cultural heritage and under safekeeping for the benefit of future generations.'

Last Generation Canada is calling for the establishment of a Climate Disaster Protection Agency to support those affected by extreme weather events such as wildfires, which they say are exacerbated by fossil fuel use.

They are urging the government to finance this agency through taxes on the 'ultra-rich'.