Budget 2021 Commits $1.9B to Arts, Culture, Heritage, Sports
/In Budget 2021, released June 28, the Government of Canada committed $1.9 billion to help support the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors. The Hon. Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, highlighted key components of this investment:
The Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors will leverage existing programs to provide $300 million over two years to organizations that are still struggling due to the pandemic. It will provide organizations and individuals with the financial means to help build organizational resilience and pursue business innovation and transformation. This will also contribute to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in these sectors, as well as greening activities.
The Reopening Fund will provide $200 million over two years through existing programming to help Canada’s festivals, cultural events, outdoor theatre performances, heritage celebrations, local museums, amateur sport events and more. It will support organizations and projects that deliver in-person experiences or events that draw visitors to our communities.
For those interested in the specifics, a table breaking down the distribution of the recovery and reopening funds can be found here. Among the notable investments:
$75 million to the Canada Council for the Arts, including: $50 million in 2022–23 ($20 million for the research, creation, and production of work, $5 million for domestic touring activities and market development, and $25 million for sector innovation) and $25 million in 2021-22 (to enable recipients of core funding to invest in activities aimed at re-engaging existing audiences and building new ones);
$35 million to Telefilm Canada, including: $16 million in 2021-22 to stabilize the Canadian cinema ecosystem and promote Canadian Cinema; $9 million in 2022-23 for a promotional campaign to increase access to Canadian films in cinemas; and $10 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to help film festivals recover and enhance their online and in-person activities;
$16 million over two years to the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support existing recipients with approved funding for a project that is currently underway, and which have experienced cost overruns or revenue losses;
$41 million to the Museums Assistance Program in 2021-22 to support ongoing operating costs for heritage organizations
and $54 million over two years (mostly in 2022) to support post-COVID celebration and commemoration initiatives as Canada emerges from the pandemic.
In addition, the Hon. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, highlighted details of the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative, which will be delivered by federal Regional Development Agencies.
This initiative will invest $200 million over two years to keep major, recurring Canadian festivals and events alive and help them adapt or enhance their activities in order to be better positioned when it becomes possible once again for national and international tourists to visit. It will complement the Reopening Fund and is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to support festivals and events across the country, and a sustained social and economic recovery for Canadians.
You can read a full budget here, and a backgrounder of the arts, culture and heritage investment here.
