August 28, 2025
Defusing a Crisis Situation and Seizing an Exceptional Opportunity
A brief to the Department of Finance as part of the pre-budget consultations
Recommendations:
1.
a) Renew and integrate the additions made to the Canada Arts Presentation Fund since 2019–2020, currently $15.5M per year, into the program’s base budget; renew and integrate the additions made to the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program since 2019–2020, currently $7M per year, into the program’s base budget.
b) Simultaneously adjust these investments to account for the growing number of clients, inflation and the sharp increase in operating costs since the pandemic (for example, by ensuring that the $15.5M addition for the CAPF increases to $21M and that the addition for BCAH increases from $7M to $9M).
c) If annual investments are not integrated into the base budgets, renew them for four or five years in order to eliminate uncertainty, provide a degree of predictability and put an end to the near-perpetual cycle of representation that has prevailed in the sector for more than five years.
2.
Establish a Canadian event and music tourism program or Fund with a $60M annual budget to promote the growth and attractiveness of the sector, along with an action plan aimed at increasing domestic and international tourism revenue and economic benefits in turn.
