2023 Federal Budget Announced
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The federal budget announcement took place on March 28, 2023. The government of Canada is targeting three main areas: health care/dental, affordability and clean economy.
Perhaps most relevant to the arts and culture sector is the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage section, which outlines the government’s investment in the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program.
This initiative will invest $14.0 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, for the Department of Canadian Heritage to support the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program. The objective is to support growth opportunities for local artists, artisans, and heritage performers through festivals, events, and projects. This includes Indigenous cultural celebrations and the celebration of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
CAPACOA, the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts has expressed disappointment at the omission of the Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF) from the budget:
“We are extremely disappointed by the blatant omission of the Canada Arts Presentation Fund in this year’s budget. Although we are happy to see an extension of supplementary funds for presenters and festivals through the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program, we must stress that this is not new funding. This lack of support is a troubling oversight that will significantly impact the live performance sector’s continued growth and sustainability.”
Likewise, the BCMA (the BC Museums Association) has underscored that Arts, Culture, and Heritage appears to be a low priority for this government:
“While new investment in the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program is welcome, the majority of relevant funding referenced goes towards either the tourism sector or a handful of federally-owned museums and heritage sites.”
While it is clear that more could be done for the arts, culture and heritage sectors, the following are among the most notable investments in this area:
Investing in Our Official Languages & Language Minority Communities
$2.7 billion over five years, starting in 2018-19, to fund the Action Plan for Official Languages, 2018-23
$450 million over five years, starting in 2019-20, to support minority-language education, including at the post-secondary level; second-language learning; and minority-language community and educational spaces; and,
$21.6 million over five years, starting in 2020-21, to support legislative amendments for increased access to family justice, including divorce, in the official language of one's choice.
$679.2 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, for the Department of Canadian Heritage to support equal access to services of equal quality in education by working with provinces and territories to make high-quality minority-language education, opportunities for second-language learning, and bilingual government services more readily available across Canada.
$208 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $54 million ongoing to Employment and Social Development Canada to expand the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities to support local official language minority community organizations to deliver employment assistance services.
Supporting the Canadian Screen Sector
$40 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to the Department of Canadian Heritage for the Canada Media Fund to make funding more open to traditionally underrepresented voices, and to increase funding for French-language screen content.
Supporting the Growth of Canada's Tourism Sector
$108 million over 3 years, on a cash basis, starting in 2023-24, to the Regional Development Agencies to support communities, small businesses, and non-profit organizations in developing local projects and events.
$50 million over 3 years, on a cash basis, starting in 2023-24, to Destination Canada to attract major international conventions, conferences, and events to Canada.
Fighting Systemic Racism, Discrimination, and Hate
$85 million over four years to launch Canada's new Anti-Racism Strategy;
$100 million over five years to launch the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan;
$200 million to establish the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund, and create a sustainable source of funding to support Black communities;
Up to $265 million over four years for the Black Entrepreneurship Program;
$18 million over two years to support the Canadian Race Relations Foundation in delivering grants for community-level interventions to combat racism in Canada, including the rise of anti-Asian racism during the pandemic;
$21.5 million to enhance legal supports for racialized communities; and,
Implemented the "nothing without us" Accessible Canada Act to realize a barrier-free Canada for persons with disabilities by 2040.
$49.5 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, to Public Safety Canada to enhance and expand the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program and allow it to be more responsive to the evolving security needs of communities.
Building on Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy
$25.4 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $0.6 million ongoing, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to continue to support Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy and fight all forms of racism, including but not limited to anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia.
$1.5 million over two years, starting in 2023-24, to the Privy Council Office to create a new Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Secretariat to ensure that considerations of anti-racism, equity and inclusion are applied in the development of federal government policies.
Supporting Black Canadian Communities
$25 million, in 2024-25, to Employment and Social Development Canada for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, to continue empowering Black-led and Black-serving community organizations and the work they do to promote inclusiveness.
Advancing Gender Equality
$160 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, for the Women's Program to provide funding to organizations in Canada that serve women. The government is committed to maintaining historic funding levels for Canadian women's organizations and equity-deserving groups, with a particular focus on Indigenous women, women with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and newcomer, Black, racialized, and migrant women.
Pockets of Funding for Arts, Culture, and Heritage
$33.5 billion for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to support new investments in public transit; green infrastructure; community, culture and recreation infrastructure; and rural and northern communities;
$10 million in funding for Canada’s six national museums to support immediate building maintenance.
$53 million over the next two years to support Canada’s national museums and the national battlefield commission.
$28 million in support for the National Arts Centre in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years.
Indigenous Arts, Culture, and Heritage
$2.8 billion to support healing, wellness, education, heritage, language, and commemoration activities.
$2 billion of this to help redress the harms that continue to impact Indigenous communities as the result of the residential school system.
Supporting Canadians With Disabilities
$10 million over two years, beginning in 2023-24, to Employment and Social Development Canada to help address the unique needs and ongoing barriers faced by persons with disabilities by investing in capacity building and the community-level work of Canada's disability organizations.
$21.5 million in 2023-24 to Employment and Social Development Canada to continue work on the future delivery of the Canada Disability Benefit, including engagement with the disability community and provinces and territories on the regulatory process.
The funding outlined above can be found under the 4.4 Stronger and More Inclusive Communities section. Key components of the budget which do not pertain to art and culture are:
a focused plan to address inflation — there will be a one-time grocery rebate of up to $467 for low-income Canadians.
A 40 per cent increase to Canada Student Grants.
A $13-billion plan to expand dental care to families earning less than $90,000 a year.
A new 15 per cent refundable tax credit for clean electricity investments.
A refundable 30 per cent tax credit for investments in clean tech manufacturing.
Cuts to government spending.
A tax on share buybacks.
A gearing of the economy for the future through multi-billion-dollar tax credits to stimulate the clean energy sector.
To read the full federal 2023 budget and access the PDF form, click here.
