BC lowest province in Canada in terms of Arts Funding.

Recently released Statistics Canada data regarding government spending on culture in 2006-07 reveals some very interesting analysis. In BC Cities and municipalities are responsible for a greater share of the cultural tab compared to rest of Canada. Compared to the rest of Canada, BC is still dead last in terms of overall government support for the arts. 

From Hill Strategies newsletter:

Statistics Canada recently released a brief overview and data regarding government spending on culture in 2006-07. The data includes direct government support for culture, not tax credits or other indirect instruments. Hill Strategies has analyzed this data for this issue of the Arts Research Monitor.

In 2006-07, governments spent $8.2 billion on culture, excluding transfers between different levels of government. This represents a 5% increase from 2003-04 after adjusting for inflation.

In 2006-07, federal government spending on culture was $3.7 billion (43% of spending by all levels of government), while the provinces and territories spent $2.6 billion (30%) and municipalities $2.4 billion (28%). (The federal, provincial and municipal breakdowns include transfers between governments and therefore do not equal the $8.2 billion total, which is net of transfers.)

The $3.7 billion in federal government spending on culture in 2006-07 was dominated by the broadcasting sector ($1.8 billion, or 47% of federal spending) and heritage organizations, including museums, art galleries, public archives, nature parks and historic sites ($959 million, or 26% of federal spending). The largest portions of the $2.6 billion in provincial spending in 2006-07 went to libraries ($948 million) and heritage organizations ($687 million). Seventy-two percent of total municipal support in 2006 ($1.8 billion of the $2.4 billion total) went to libraries.



Government support for the arts (defined as performing arts, visual arts and crafts, and arts education) represented 8% of total government spending on culture in 2006-07 ($684 million). Support for the arts was highest from the provincial and territorial level ($389 million, or 15% of provincial and territorial governments’ spending on culture), followed by the federal level ($268 million, or 7% of federal government spending on culture). At the municipal level, spending on the arts is not reliably stated in the data. (While large municipal spending areas like libraries are broken out in the dataset, most other municipal funding is grouped into the “Multidisciplinary and other activities” category.)

Between 2003-04 and 2006-07, federal spending decreased from $3.8 billion to $3.7 billion after adjusting for inflation (a 1% decrease). Provincial spending on culture increased from $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion after adjusting for inflation (an 11% increase), while municipal spending increased from $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion after adjusting for inflation (a 10% increase).

On a per-capita basis, spending on culture by all levels of government was $266 per Canadian in 2006-07. From highest to lowest, per-capita spending by all levels of government was as follows in each province:

•  Quebec ($335 per capita);
•  Prince Edward Island ($272 per capita);
•  Saskatchewan ($257 per capita);
•  Ontario ($245 per capita);
•   Nova Scotia ($234 per capita);
•   Manitoba ($231 per capita);
•   Newfoundland and Labrador ($224 per capita);
•   Alberta ($219 per capita);
•   New Brunswick ($210 per capita); and
•   British Columbia ($194 per capita).

Federal spending on culture averaged $114 per Canadian in 2006-07. As shown below, three provinces were above this average, while the other seven are below $114 per person in federal spending on culture:

• Quebec ($164 per capita);
• Prince Edward Island ($141 per capita);
• Nova Scotia ($115 per capita)
• Ontario ($107 per capita)
• Newfoundland and Labrador ($93 per capita);
• New Brunswick ($91 per capita);
• Manitoba ($73 per capita);
• Alberta ($57 per capita)
• Saskatchewan ($48 per capita); and
• British Columbia ($46 per capita).

Provincial spending on culture averaged $79 per Canadian in 2006-07. Only British Columbia and Ontario were below this level. Per-capita provincial spending on culture was as follows in each province

• Saskatchewan ($118 per capita);
• Manitoba ($110 per capita);
• Newfoundland and Labrador ($106 per capita);
• Quebec ($104 per capita);
• Prince Edward Island ($101 per capita)
• Alberta ($95 per capita);
• New Brunswick ($81 per capita);
• Nova Scotia ($80 per capita);
• British Columbia ($58 per capita); and
• Ontario ($55 per capita).

Municipal spending on culture varied widely between the provinces and averaged $73 per Canadian in 2006. Per-capita municipal spending on culture was as follows in each province:

•  Saskatchewan ($91 per capita);
•  British Columbia ($90 per capita);
•  Ontario ($82 per capita);
•  Alberta ($66 per capita);
•  Quebec ($66 per capita);
•  Manitoba ($48 per capita);
•  Nova Scotia ($39 per capita); New Brunswick ($37 per capita);
•  Prince Edward Island ($30 per capita); and
•  Newfoundland and Labrador ($26 per capita).

Per-capita spending levels are higher in the three territories than in any province by every measure except municipal spending. Because of their small populations, the territories were excluded from the above analysis. Key data for the territories follows:

•  In the Yukon, total government spending on culture was $1,155 per person in 2006-07, which included $598 in federal spending, $531 in territorial spending, and $25 in municipal spending.

• In the Northwest Territories, total government spending on culture was $1,004 per capita in 2006-07, which included $725 in federal spending, $233 in territorial spending, and $46 in municipal spending.

• In Nunavut, total government spending on culture was $561 per person in 2006-07, which included $313 in federal spending, $206 in territorial spending, and $42 in municipal spending.

source:  Hill Arts Monitor - November 2009