Canada doubles annual budget for festivals

Canada’s performing arts festivals will benefit from CA$31 million (€21m) in federal funding across the next two years.

The aid, which will be distributed via the Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF), is nearly double the current annual supplementary funding for the programme, which has received $8 million per year since 2019.

This aid benefits nearly 1,600 organisations in every province and territory and contributes to sustaining 78,000 cultural jobs.

A portion of the new funding is already earmarked for festivals including Montreal circus festival La TOHU, Montreal dance and theatre event Festival TransAmériques, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, Quebec’s Sherbrooke Film Festival and Festival des traditions du monde.

“The CAPF increase will provide partial, yet essential, relief and is another step in the right direction”

The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA), which has been advocating for an increase in the fund, welcomed the news. “We would like to thank the government for its recognition of the pressure our industry is under,” said CLMA president & CEO, Erin Benjamin. “The CAPF increase will provide partial, yet essential, relief and is another step in the right direction.

“We also hope the Canada Music Fund (CMF) increase, announced on 24 March, will directly address pressures the commercial side of the live music industry is facing, especially independent live music venues. Together, these increases represent a critical opportunity for Canada’s touring infrastructure, and will have immediate impact for artists, tourism and the future of live music across the country.”

CLMA is part of the #FutureOfLive coalition, a collective of 34 performing arts associations, that has been drawing attention to the difficult circumstances in the performing arts industry.

The budget also confirmed the government’s previous announcement of a $32 million annual increase to the Canada Music Fund, which CLMA had campaigned for alongside other music organisations like CIMA and SOCAN.

The Canada Music Fund supports the granting bodies FACTOR and Musicaction, which provide assistance for recording, marketing, touring and more.

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