Canada

Last update: November, 2008

Table 4:     Per capita expenditure on culture by level of government in CAD, 1998-99 - 2005-06

Source:      Statistics Canada, Government Expenditures on Culture, 1998-99 - 2005-06.

Last update: November, 2008

In 2008, the Conference Board estimated that spending on culture in Canada in 2007 by all levels of government combined, including federal, provincial and local levels, reached CAD 7.9 billion.

Table 5:     Public cultural expenditure: by level of government in CAD million,
                  2003-04 - 2005-06

Source:    Statistics Canada, Surveys of Government Expenditures on Culture, 2003-04 - 2005-06.
*              Numbers do not total 100% owing to rounding of total government spending in culture including
                inter-governmental transfers.
(1)            Municipal spending is calculated on a calendar year basis; Data for 2004 under review.
(2)            Includes inter-governmental transfers.

Last update: November, 2008

Table 6:     Federal expenditures on culture by type and sector in CAD million, 2004-05 - 2005-06

Source:      Canadian Heritage: Government expenditures on culture, 2004-05 - 2005-06.

Table 7:     Transfer payments programmes by the Department of Canadian Heritage, in million CAD, 2006-2007

Source:      Department of Canadian Heritage, Departmental Performance Report (2006-07).
*                 All of the above transfer payments programmes are voted, which means that each year the Parliament of Canada votes annual Appropriation Act or Acts to grant expenditure authority to the Crown for departments and agencies. This spending authorisation lapses at year-end. For more detailed information on these transfer payments programmes.**              Music Entrepreneur Programme and New Music Works Programme are included under Canada Music Fund. Partnerships Fund is included under Canadian Culture Online.

Table 8:     Forecast and Planned Cultural Spending by the Department of Canadian Heritage, in million CAD, 2008-2011

Source:      Department of Canadian Heritage Report on Plans and Priorities, 2008-2009.

Last update: November, 2008

The government of Canada has been closely involved with the arts, primarily the performing and visual arts and crafts, since the establishment of the arm's length but fully government-funded Canada Council in 1957 pursuant to the publication six years earlier of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Arts and Letters (Massey-Lévesque). The emphasis of federal policy in the arts has always been on the contribution of financial support to not-for-profit arts organisations and individual artists. The private or commercial side of the performing arts, such as commercial theatre, pop music, clubs and amateur participation, rarely receive federal art policy and programme support.

In 2004, virtually all operating revenues of for-profit arts companies came from earned revenues (57% ticket sales, 40% merchandising, royalties and rentals) and only 2% from government funding and 1% from private donations.  The not-for-profit arts companies' relative dependence on government subsidies and donations is evident from their revenue sources are as follows: ticket sales 42%, merchandising, royalties and rentals 8%, governments 29% and private donations 21%. Together, overall revenue from live performances accounted for 49% of total revenues for not-for-profit performing arts companies in 2004, unchanged since 2001. Total revenues surpassed CAD 1.2 billion in 2004, up 25% since 2001. Theatre accounts for 28% of total revenues and comprises the largest segment of the not-for-profit arts sector, attracting over half of total arts attendance. Not-for-profit music was the second largest segment (primarily orchestras) with 25% of total performing arts revenues.

Owing to the recent inclusion of for-profit companies in the Statistics Canada survey of the performing arts, data trend lines go back to 2001 only. Just less than 1 000 for-profit and 500 not-for-profit companies were surveyed in 2004. All disciplines of not-for-profit performing arts companies registered deficits in 2004 owing to expenditure increases. Before-tax profit margins were negative at -1.2% in 2004 for not-for-profit companies. However, this deficit shows some reduction since 2001.

Beyond the quintessential concern over funding and deficit financing, other issues debated in the arts community include: the socio-economic condition of artists, especially the self-employed, the nature of the employer-employee relationship, tax incentives for charitable donations, community arts activities, arts appreciation programmes, arts training programmes, cultural facilities infrastructure improvements, maintaining audience growth and development, domestic and foreign touring within and outside Canada, public arts, and arts participation, including volunteers and amateur arts creation activities.

Last update: November, 2008

The Department of Canadian Heritage has developed an arts policy framework that is being implemented through the following programmes:

• Arts Presentation Canada: seeks to give Canadians more access to diverse, high quality artistic expression through the support of presenters, performing arts series, and other artistic experiences (replaces the festivals and special arts events component of the former Cultural Initiatives Programme). It funds more than 500 organisations in over 200 communities each year;
• Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Programme: supports professional not-for-profit arts or heritage organisations, national professional not-for-profit arts or heritage service organisations, provincial professional not-for-profit heritage service organisations, municipal or regional governments and agencies of provincial / territorial governments (for Heritage only), and Aboriginal organisations / governing bodies in the improvement of their management practices and the development of greater financial capacity of arts and heritage organisations, including matching donations to endowment funds. Funding is also made available for projects focused on improved governance structure and development of new or diverse audiences;
• Cultural Spaces Canada: seeks to improve access to arts and heritage experiences for Canadians and to improve physical conditions for artistic creativity by supporting the construction and renovation of arts and heritage facilities in Canada as well as the acquisition of specialised equipment. It complements the government-wide Infrastructure Canada Programme;
• Cultural Capitals of Canada: provides funds for activities that celebrate arts and culture at the local level and that integrate arts and culture into community planning. Five Cultural Capitals were announced in January 2008 for 2009 in accordance with three funding categories: municipalities with populations greater than 125 000, municipalities with populations between 50 000 and 125 000, and municipalities below 50 000 in population;
• Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage: announced in the 2007 Federal Budget, the Programme provides grants and contributions to local arts and heritage festivals and events for the purpose of engaging Canadians in their communities through arts and heritage festivals and events and community historical anniversaries;
• National Arts Training Contribution Programme: supports independent, not-for-profit, incorporated Canadian institutions that provide training in preparation for professional careers in the arts; and
• Official-Language Support Programmes: through funding and multi-partner agreements, support arts and culture networks within the English-speaking and French-speaking minority communities.

In 2001, the government of Canada announced the "Tomorrow Starts Today (TST)" initiative, which provided support for Canadian artists, arts organisations and the cultural industries. Support was provided from 2001 to 2006 through the following programmes: the arts and heritage (Arts Presentation Canada, Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Programme, Cultural Capitals of Canada, Cultural Spaces of Canada, National Arts Training Contributions Programme), book publishing (Aid to Publishers, Supply Chain Initiatives Publishers, Collective Initiatives), the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Culture Online (Applied Research in Interactive Media Programme, Canada New Media Fund, Culture.ca, Francommunautés virtuelles, Partnerships Fund, Virtual Museum of Canada Investment Programme, Canadian Memory Fund) and Trade Routes. The TST has since been renewed until 2010, although support to the different programmes has changed.

Last update: November, 2008

In 2005-06, the Canada Council for the Arts (CAC), which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, awarded 5 780 grants, with a total value of CAD 120.5 million, to some 2 100 professional Canadian artists out of a total of 131 000 professional artists in Canada and 2 000 arts organisations, as well as CAD 2.6 million in endowed prizes in 2005-06. The recipients reside in over 825 Canadian communities in dance, media arts, music, theatre, writing and publishing, interdisciplinary work and performance art, and the visual arts (Annual Report 2005-06). Grants are provided through programmes divided according to the following disciplines: visual arts, inter-disciplinary arts, writing and publishing, Aboriginal arts, theatre, dance, music / outreach, media arts (including film, video, new media and audio) and equity. Of these disciplines, music, theatre, and writing and publishing receive the largest funding although important levels of funding are also provided youth-related activities, Aboriginal artists and organisations and culturally diverse artists and organisations.

The Council also runs or houses the following programmes:

• Aboriginal Arts Programme, an outreach programme for domesticaudiences and marketing development and touring assistance;
• Canadian Commission for UNESCO, currently establishing, inter alia, a global network of UNESCO-associated elementary and secondary schools;
• Canada Council Art Bank which maintains a collection of 18000 paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures for rent and display to public and private institutions; and
• Public Lending Right Commission. The federal arm's length Public Lending Right Programme (PLR) was established in 1986 to increase the revenues and improve the financial situation of Canadian writers and to give public recognition to their important contribution to protecting and growing Canada's cultural identity. It is administered by the Public Lending Right Commission, comprised of representatives of national writers', librarians' and publishers' associations and operates under the administrative aegis of the Canada Council for the Arts. The PLR makes payments to Canadian writers, translators and illustrators based on the holdings of their books by a representative sample of libraries across Canada. 15417 writers, translators and illustrators across Canada received just over CAD 9 million in public lending right payments in 2006-07, marking a growth of over 300% in authors, titles and payments over the last seventeen years.

The Council also operates the Artist and Community Collaboration Fund (ACCF), which brings together professional artists and the broader community in order to give the arts a stronger presence in everyday life. Priorities are given to youth and arts education and as with all Council programmes the ACCF is accessible to Aboriginal artists and arts organisations as well as artists and arts organisations of diverse regional and cultural communities of Canada. The ACCF for 2006-2007 increased the Canada Council for the Arts' commitment to the diverse artistic activities that bring together professional artists and the broader community. Through this, it gives the arts a stronger presence in everyday life. The fund offers opportunities for communities to express themselves through creative collaborations with leading professional artists. The ACCF is delivered through participating programs in all sections of the Canada Council. Artists and community collaboration activities are also supported within other Canada Council programmes outside the framework of the ACCF.

The Outreach Programme of the Canada Council for the Arts provides travel assistance to the presenters and curators of professional Canadian artists needed to reach new audiences at home and abroad. Council's Audience and Market Development Programme (AMDP) provides travel assistance to increase, enhance and broaden programming options for presenters and curators of professional Canadian artists and to assist professional artists and their managers to develop and reach new audiences and markets in Canada and internationally. Along with its grants programme and special initiatives, the AMDP maintains updated on-line directories of presenters, agents and festivals.

Last update: November, 2008

While provincial arts councils provide assistance to provincial associations, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage provide support to national arts service organisations, other artists' associations and unions such as the Canadian Conference of the Arts, the Canadian Museums Association, the Writers Union and sound recording associations such as FACTOR. The Department of Canadian Heritage provides legislative recognition of artists through the Status of the Artist Act (see also chapter 4.1.3). National arts service organisations (NASOs) are also eligible for charitable tax status, which is another form of indirect support to arts associations.