Performing arts groups have been lobbying the government to create a new live performance tax credit. Let’s hope the finance minister mentions this proposal in his economic statement because it truly is an investment for all, not just one gender or one region.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 27, 2026.

OTTAWA—A little-known study published last year by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce laid to rest the myth that cultural spending is a drain on federal finances.

On the contrary, the report, entitled Artworks: The Economic and Social Dividends from Canada’s Arts and Culture Sector, reported that, in 2024, the arts and culture sector contributed $65-billion in direct gross domestic product to the Canadian economy.

Conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab, and commissioned by Business/Arts along with the Canada Council for the Arts, Artworks also pointed out that, from 2022 to 2025, spending in arts and culture increased at a rate almost double the general Canadian sectoral growth.

On the international scene, this country sold almost $25-billion in goods and services globally.

According to the report, since 2011, arts-sector spending growth has outpaced all other sectors, including oil and gas, construction, wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing.

Most important for the Department of Finance is that the sector generates $17-billion in federal and provincial taxes.

So why is it, that when the conversation turns to the economy, our attention is focused not on this growth sector, but on other sectors like fossil fuels, auto, and construction?

Principal economist for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Andrew DiCapua had this to say about government investment in the sector: “The arts and culture sector generates $29 in economic activity for every dollar in federal investment—that’s an extraordinary return in addition to the social benefits that the sector generates. Yet, we’re seeing concerning trends in both public and private funding. If we want to maintain Canada’s cultural competitiveness and harness this sector’s full economic potential, we need sustained, strategic investment.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has a chance to advance cultural investment in the economic update that his government will be tabling this week.

The Build Communities Strong funding is definitely intended to boost jobs and grow the economy in infrastructure projects with a budget of $27.8-billion over the next decade. Those jobs will primarily go to men.

These investments tie in with Canada Strong, which was the government’s mantra until a new logo was launched at the recent Liberal national convention in Montreal.

The new mantra is Canada for All. This vision ties in beautifully with the Chamber of Commerce call for more investment in arts and culture.

Unlike other investments, government spending in arts and culture reaches out to almost every community in the country.

Festivals and Major Events Canada, the national organization representing everyone from Carnaval de Quebec to the Calgary Stampede, represents more than 500 festivals in communities across the country. That doesn’t include live theatre and music performances that multiply across the country during the summer season.

A coalition of performing arts organizations have been lobbying the government to create a new live performance tax credit. The credit is modelled after the wildly successful Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit which was launched by the government of Jean Chrétien back in 1995.

That 25-per-cent credit on the hiring of Canadian talent was the first of its kind in the world. It has been so successful that similar models have been launched in more than 40 countries around the world. It generates $3.40 in revenue for every dollar spent by the government.

A similar performing arts credit would generate $23 in local economic impact, so its accelerator value is huge. Why? Because when people attend performances, they often spend money in the community, with dinner or drinks before or after.

The government price-ticket on this live performance accelerator tax credit is $100-million annually over three years.

Government officials at multiple levels have been reviewing the proposal, but say it is too rich.

In comparison, the government uptick in military spending to meet NATO targets is $81-billion over five years.

A price tag of $300-million over three years is modest in comparison to the jobs and spending impact it will have on every community in the country.

Canada for All should mean that jobs are not happening only be in male-dominated sectors like the military and infrastructure construction.

A modest arts investment would reach out to every region and every community, with jobs for youth and women who are underrepresented in Canada Strong investments.

In the 10 years of conservative economic statements, the word ‘culture’ rarely appeared.

Let’s hope the finance minister mentions this modest tax credit proposal in his economic statement because it truly is an investment for all, not just one gender or one region.

If the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is promoting cultural investment, the government should be listening.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

The last budget was silent on NAFC funding which is scheduled to sunset because the existing 10-year funding agreement ends in 2026

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on December 15, 2025.

OTTAWA—The minister of Canadian culture and identity has an almost impossible job. The idea of a monolithic Canadian culture is a challenge in itself.

Marc Miller is also responsible for official languages, minority language English support in Quebec, and French outside Quebec.

The focus on official languages overshadows support for Indigenous Peoples. When I became Canadian heritage minister in 1995, almost all funding was directed to activities promoting the languages of Shakespeare and Molière.

Indigenous applicants for cultural funding were redirected to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, even though that department had no funding for culture.

The government claimed to be supporting Canadian culture, but was really financing European-based culture.

When it came to First Nations, there was no investment in promoting Indigenous identities though books, television, film, live performances, or any other artistic medium that supported self-identity.

In the last budget, the vast majority of Indigenous funding targeted infrastructure and investment within Indigenous territories.

It is very popular these days to open every ceremony with an acknowledgement that we, as colonizers, live on the ceded or unceded territory of various First Nations. Ceded territory signifies those lands where successive governments signed treaties with First Nations. Unceded territories includes lands where a treaty on land ownership was never concluded.

The Parliament of Canada was built on Algonquin land that has not been ceded to the Crown.

Most of today’s governance policies involve engagement of Indigenous Peoples living on those territories.

But the reality is that 60 per cent of Indigenous Peoples do not live on the lands that their ancestors inhabited. They migrate to cities, and are expected to be served via the same services available to all other citizens.

The recent budget outlined more than $16-billion in funding initiatives largely focused on Indigenous territorial investments.

But it was silent on any future funding for the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC).

The last budget under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau allocated $27.5-million in 2024 to the NAFC which administers more than 100 centres in small and large communities across the country.

When you compare the friendship centre budget to the investment on Indigenous territories, the contrast is already very stark.

For the majority of Indigenous Peoples living away from their homes, friendship centres are the first places of welcome that can help in their transition.

The centres offer housing, job-search assistance, mental-health programs, and addiction support.

Most provide a much-needed medical and social service link to the outside community.

The Nov. 4 budget was silent on NAFC funding which is scheduled to sunset because the existing 10-year funding agreement ends in 2026.

Leaders from dozens of friendship centres across the country descended on Ottawa last week for a summit on their continued existence.

Speaker after speaker made the case that survival is crucial to the reconciliation process that the government has committed to.

Miller attended the event, joined by Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty. Both spoke positively in support of funding friendship centres.

If anyone understands that the key to Canadian identity is Indigenous, it’s Miller.

He is still held in high regard for his work as minister responsible for Indigenous services, and minister of Crown-Indigenous relations.

On a personal basis, Miller was the first MP in history to make a statement in the Mohawk language, studying a community-based program developed by the Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford, Ont.

Miller recently faced some criticism for his reaction to a question on the decline of French-language speakers in Quebec. Miller said he was “fed up” with the language debate, raising the ire of Quebec Premier François Legault, who called him a “disgrace.”

Miller’s exasperation stemmed from the fact that language is constantly used by politicians as a political weapon.

He won’t face that issue with Indigenous Peoples. But he will be challenged to put his historic support for them to the test by returning full funding to friendship centres from coast to coast to coast.

Meanwhile, centres are scrambling because they literally do not know what will happen in three months.

The NAFC’s interim CEO advised the government that March 31, 2026, layoffs are being contemplated because that is when budget certainty ends.

Deputy minister of Indigenous Services, Algonquin Gina Wilson, has confirmed that funding will be renewed, but no one knows by how much and when.

Millions of Indigenous Peoples are hoping Miller and Gull-Masty will deliver more than a lump of coal this Christmas.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.