Federal Budget: Major Relief for Festivals and Events

November 4, 2025

Festivals and Major Events Canada (FAME) is greatly relieved that the federal government has announced, in its budget, that the additional funding allocated since 2019 to the Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF) and the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) programs will be renewed for three years, starting in 2026-2027.

The budget allocates $15.5M in additional funding for the CAPF for each of the next three years and $7M for BCAH for the same period. This maintains the combined budget for both programs at nearly $73M. Associations representing festivals and events had hoped for this amount to be increased to between $80.2M and $95.2M to better address the challenges facing the sector and the sharp increase in the number of events supported, which often results in reduced grants.

FAME also requested that these amounts be added to the base budgets or that investments be made for periods longer than two years, which is the case with this three-year announcement.

The two main programs that support festivals and events could have lost $22.5M of the approximately $73M they have had for the past two years, or nearly one-third of the combined budget, as of April 1, 2026. This would have reduced funding for these programs to 2007 levels, representing a near 50% decrease in constant dollars.

About FAME

Festivals and Major Events Canada (FAME) is a Canada-wide coalition representing some 500 festivals and events of all sizes through direct and affiliate members. FAME acts as a voice for the festivals and events industry with partners, governments, the media and the public.

The coalition works closely with the Regroupement des événements majeurs internationaux (RÉMI), which consists of some 30 major events in Quebec, as well as with the following organizations: Ontario Festival Industry Taskforce (OFIT), Événements Attractions Québec (ÉAQ), Event Atlantic, Atlantic Presenters Association (APA), BC Music Festival Collective (BCMFC), Ottawa Festival Network (OFN) and the City of Charlottetown.