Continued Support for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sector Organizations

The Government of Canada invests in the recovery and safe reopening of the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors 

MONTREAL, June 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Since March 2020, Canadians' access to arts, culture, heritage and sporting events has been severely limited due to closures, cancellations and postponements related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These events and experiences are at the heart of Canadian life, our economy, and individual and collective well-being. As more and more Canadians receive their vaccinations, as case rates decline, and as provinces and territories implement their reopening plans, Canadians are seeking opportunities to safely return to cultural and sporting activities. In order to do so, arts, culture, heritage and sport organizations, and Canadians working in these sectors, need targeted support to continue to weather the impacts of the pandemic and create good jobs for the middle class.

In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada committed $1.9 billion to help support the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors. This funding will help ensure recovery and growth, and help create good, middle-class jobs in these sectors.

Today, 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.

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.

Quotes

"Our artists and other cultural and heritage workers as well as the amateur sport community have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and they will be among the last to fully recover from its prolonged economic impact. We continue to support them and show our commitment to the re-establishment of those sectors, which contribute so much to Canada's vibrant cultural and economic life."

—The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Major festivals and events are key levers of economic activity across the country. They attract national and international tourists, position Canada and its regions as destinations of choice, encourage investment in Canadian tourism assets and create jobs while binding communities together. They have an important role to play in the economic recovery and vitality of our regions. That is why I feel the support we are announcing today will make such a difference for our businesses and our communities alike."

—The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Member of Parliament for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages

Associated Links

Budget 2021 - A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience 
Information for Canadian Heritage grants and contributions recipients related to COVID-19 
Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative

Backgrounder

Backgrounder - Continued Support for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sector Organizations

Backgrounder - The Government of Canada invests in the recovery and safe reopening of the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors

MONTREAL, June 28, 2021

In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada committed $1.9 billion to help support the recovery and reopening of the arts, culture, heritage and sport sectors. This funding, to be delivered over the next five years by the Department of Canadian Heritage and Canadian Heritage portfolio organizations, will help ensure recovery and growth, and help create good, middle-class jobs in these sectors.

In addition to this, the $200-million two-year Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative, to be delivered by federal Regional Development Agencies, will help keep major, recurring Canadian festivals and events alive and help them adapt for future editions where tourists will again be able to participate .

Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage, and Sport Sectors

The Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors will provide $300 million over two years. It will be administered by existing Canadian Heritage programs as well as programs delivered by the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada. It includes two streams :

• Reinforcing Recovery Foundations – to provide additional relief to arts, culture and sport organizations that are still struggling with operational viability due to the pandemic.
• Investing in the Recovery – to provide organizations and Canadians working in these sectors who are ready to lead recovery in the arts, culture and heritage sectors 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.

Reopening Fund

The Reopening Fund will provide $200 million over two years through existing programs to support 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 and events that draw visitors to our communities, and will complement tourism-related initiatives to be delivered by federal Regional Development Agencies. It will be delivered by Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada.

Distribution of Recovery and Reopening Funds

	Recovery Fund Stream 1 Reinforcing Recovery Foundations	Recovery Fund Stream 2 Investing in the Recovery	Reopening Fund
Canada Periodical Fund	$21.5 million in 2021-22 to assist free, digital and small-circulation magazines and weekly newspapers	$10 million in 2021-22 to allow a top-up for all eligible periodicals to the Aid to Publishers
Local Journalism Initiative	$10 million over 2 years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to facilitate the hiring of more journalists in underserved communities
Canada Media Fund	$5 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support the recovery of third-language community productions
Local news and programming produced by independent broadcasters	$10.5 million in 2021-22 to support production of local news and local programming by independent broadcasters, to be distributed by partners
Telefilm Canada	$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	$10 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to help film festivals recover and enhance their online and in-person activities
Canada Arts Presentation Fund	$5 million in year 1 (2021-22) to support not-for-profit organizations in the professional arts presentation sector experiencing significant viability and business continuity challenges, specifically those organizations that own or operate presentation venues with greater financial risk		$5 million in year 1 (2021-22) to support not-for-profit organizations in the professional arts presentation sector experiencing significant viability and business continuity challenges, specifically those organizations that own or operate presentation venues with greater financial risk; and $25 million in year 2 (2022-23) to support not-for-profit organizations in the professional arts presentation sector for costs to encourage the return of audiences.
Canada Council for the Arts		$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.	$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.
Canada Arts Training Fund	$5 million in year 1 (2021-22) to support the business continuity of not-for-profit professional arts training organizations
Canada Music Fund			$7 million (2022-2023) to the to support Canada's live music sector and music festivals not funded through other departmental programs
Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program			$12 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support recurring festivals that offer arts and heritage programming and present the work of local artists, artisans or heritage performers including  LGBTQ2+ events and Indigenous cultural celebrations
Museums Assistance Program			$41 million in 2021-22 to support ongoing operating costs for heritage organizations
Canada Book Fund		$11.4 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to increase promotion and access to Canadian books and support publishers in underserved communities
Canada Cultural Spaces Fund	$16 million over two years (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
Canada Cultural Investment Fund		$3.5 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to the Strategic Initiatives component of the Canada Cultural Investment Fund  to support partnerships initiatives in the arts and heritage sectors
Harbourfront Centre	$20 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to undertake urgent capital improvements and repairs
Creative Export Canada		$7.9 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to provide support to export-ready Canadian creative businesses and organizations and $1.7 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to accelerate the growth of creative exporters through training and mentorship opportunities
Sport Support Program	$60 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to help existing national level recipient organizations struggling financially to restore programming and services, and up to $6 million in 2021-22 for Olympic and Paralympic athlete travel costs due to quarantine requirements
Sports events	$17 million in 2022-23 to help existing national-level organizations continue to host sports events		$13 million in 2021-22 to existing national-level recipient sport organizations to help them continue to host events
Official language minority communities	$4 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support post-COVID activities and capacity building for official language minority communities	$1 million in 2021-22 to support post-COVID activities and capacity building for official language minority communities	$1.5 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support post-COVID innovation among official language minority communities organizations with a mandate in arts, culture and heritage, among others
Celebration and commemoration initiatives			$54 million over two years (mostly in 2022) to support post-COVID celebration and commemoration initiatives as Canada emerges from the pandemic

How to apply?

• New funding applicants: For certain programs, new funding applicants will be able to submit proposals through an application-based online portal. Details about eligibility and this application-based portal will be available in the coming weeks.
• Existing funding recipients: For existing funding recipients, Canadian Heritage programs participating in the Recovery and Reopening Funds will make more information available in the coming weeks to indicate to eligible stakeholders and industry members how they might apply for support through these funds.

Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative 

• The Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative has a budget of $200 million over two years and is delivered by Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Western Economic Diversification Canada.
• It specifically supports major, recurring festivals and events with annual revenues exceeding $10 million.
• The initiative will help them with their liquidity needs to ensure continued operations or adapt their activities to new, pandemic-related realities and requirements. It will also assist them in enhancing their product and experience offering so that they are better positioned as the economy reopens.
• For information on the Regional Development Agencies' Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative, visit this link.

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For more information (media only), please contact: Camille Gagné-Raynauld, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]; Media Relations, Privy Council Office, [email protected], 613-957-5420; Catherine Mounier-Desrochers, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, [email protected]; Media Relations, FedDev Ontario, [email protected]; Media Relations, Western Economic Diversification Canada [email protected]

Related Links

www.pch.gc.ca