Federal Government Unveils 2021 Budget
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Chrystia Freeland. | Image: AFP via Getty Images.
On April 21, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced the 2021 federal budget, Supporting Canada’s Active Recovery.
"This budget is about finishing the fight against COVID. It's about healing the economic wounds left by the COVID recession,” said Freeland. “And it's about creating more jobs and prosperity for Canadians in the days and decades to come.”
What does that mean for arts, culture and heritage? The provisions outlined in the new budget include:
$300 million over two years, starting in 2021-22, to Canadian Heritage to establish a Recovery Fund for Heritage, Arts, Culture, Heritage, and Sport Sectors;
Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program ($14 million over two years, starting in 2022-23);
Canada Arts Presentation Fund ($16 million over two years, starting in 2022-23);
Celebration and Commemoration Program ($19.6 million over three years, starting in 2021-22);
Canada Music Fund ($70 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, including up to $50 million for the live music sector);
Canada Cultural Spaces Fund ($15 million in 2021-22) to support recovery costs associated with return to production;
Support Canadian Book Industry ($39.3 million over two years, starting in 2021-22, to Canadian Heritage to support the Canadian book industry. This includes $32.1 million over two years, starting in 2021-22, to help bookstores increase online sales and $7.2 million in 2021-22 to promote Canada’s book industry at the Frankfurt Book Fair).
Investments for the digitisation of information and collections by non-national museums and heritage institutions, which will allow these institutions to create original content such as educational materials, apps, or other virtual activities to enhance the visitor experience ($23M over three years to the Museums Assistance Program, starting in 2021-22).
Extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and the Lockdown Support until September 2021. Subsidy rates will gradually decline over the July-to-September period to target sectors that are slower to recover.
$371.8 million in new funding for Canada Summer Jobs in 2022-23 to support approximately 75,000 new job placements in the summer of 2022.
For further synopsis of Budget 2021, click here. To read the full document, click here. Thanks to Global Public Affairs as well as the BC Museums Association for the summary above.
