MY PREDICTION: Canada's Cultural Institutions Will Find New Audiences

The country’s arts festivals, venues and organizations will need more money to stay afloat

- Kelly Langgard

The past year has laid bare a harsh reality: Canada's cultural institutions are facing serious economic challenges. Rents have soared, forcing local venues to relocate-including Calgary's century-old Grand Theatre and Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre, which has hosted artists like Bob Dylan and Billie Eilish. Festivals aren't safe, either. Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary festival, put its flagship Toronto cinema up for sale to fund future events, and Just For Laughs, one of the world's biggest comedy festivals, cancelled all of its 2024 shows as its Montreal parent company tried to avoid bankruptcy.

Canadian arts organizations do not have deep reserves. Most are non-profits that rely on a mix of government grants, private donations and earned revenue to stay afloat. When the pandemic struck, that revenue disappeared overnight; audiences still haven't fully returned. Operating costs have risen by as much as 41 per cent since 2019, due in part to wage hikes, while corporate sponsorships shrink and public funding flags. (Government funding to the Canada Council for the Arts decreased by $3.63 million last year, and will be reduced by $7.33 million in 2025.) Artists are struggling as well. More than 70 per cent juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet. Unless we do something, 2025 will mark a turning point for Canada's cultural scene-and not for the better.