by Lisa Mackay
The Canadian Arts Coalition (CAC) is an alliance of arts service organizations, arts organizations, individuals and champions from across the country who advocate for arts and culture at the federal order of government. The Coalition is united in the belief that the future of our citizens, their towns and cities, and the nation itself depends on a rich, vibrant, and diverse arts and heritage community. The CAC was originally formed in 2005.
Early on in their work, believing that the Canada Council for the Arts was fundamental to the cultural infrastructure of Canada, the Coalition advocated for a doubling of the Canada Council’s budget to $300 million and took their ask to Parliament with the first Arts Day on the Hill. It took many years of advocacy, but in 2016 the Government of Canada made a historic investment of $1.87 Billion in arts and culture and the CAC's request to double the Canada Council for the Arts’ funding finally was addressed. In the years since the increase, the Canada Council has been able to enhance the activities of the arts sector and provide increased access to emerging and equity-seeking artists and organizations.
In 2023, the Rozsa Foundation felt that the purpose of the Coalition aligned with our advocacy objectives and we became a member. We worked alongside our colleagues from across Canada to create and submit a pre-budget recommendation to the government. You can read the full document here, but the recommendation we submitted was to permanently allocate 1% of government spending to arts and culture, through the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage. This means increasing the government's current investment of 0.94% by 0.06% and making it permanent and responsive to changes in our civic and economic contexts. In the 2025 budget, this would be an additional $270 Million for Canada's arts, culture, and heritage sector.
To keep this recommendation top of mind in Ottawa and reinforce the messages we included in the document, I, along with David Leinster, CEO of Contemporary Calgary, will travel to Ottawa to bring an Alberta perspective as part of a national coalition for Arts Day on the Hill 2024. On November 19, we will be meeting with politicians, MPs (including Greg McLean of Calgary), policymakers, and parliamentary staff to explain and promote our message and gather support for the 1% permanent allocation.
This is where you come in
Wherever you are on Arts Day, November 19, you can help make the day a success. We have created a guide explaining how arts organizations, artists, arts managers, individuals and arts champions can make an enormous impact with Arts Day on the Hill on November 19. It would be really helpful if you could download and share them in your community. The more noise we can make from coast to coast to coast, the more our politicians will realize that the arts are important to every constituency.
In addition to making noise on November 19, we have a second guide to help give everyone some ideas on how you can help amplify the Canadian Arts Coalition’s objectives and budget ask throughout the fall and especially during the busy festive season by meeting with your local politicians and helping spread the message. We are asking artists, arts managers, and arts lovers who care about culture in Canada to spend time with both Members of Parliament and with prospective candidates in the coming federal election. Invite your local politicians to your events to see why the arts matter nationally.
Thank you in advance for your support! If you are also interested in learning more about the Coalition and perhaps becoming a member yourself, please visit the Canadian Arts Coalition website. The 2025 membership details will be posted this Monday, November 18.
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