Campaign Background
The NS Arts Coalition is deeply concerned about the recently announced austerity budget that the government is tabling, one which calls for significant cuts to funding for Arts, Culture & Heritage. See the proposed cuts here.
We are urging the government to abandon any cuts to Arts, Culture & Heritage. The solution to the province's fiscal health is in realizing the sector’s potential and trusting in the economics of long term investment. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 report Artworks: The Economic and Social Dividends from Canada’s Arts and Culture Sector, federally, every $1 invested in the arts generates $29 of economic activity. Is our government willing to sacrifice this level of economic activity across industries to save money now? The ripple effect of these cuts will be disastrous, not just in the Arts, Culture & Heritage sector, but in tourism, hospitality, industry, in the grocery stores and gas stations, in the shops and services frequented by our community members.
Arts, Culture & Heritage are critical economic building blocks in Nova Scotia. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Arts, Culture & Heritage contributed $2.6 billion in GDP and supported 22,000 jobs in this province in 2023 alone.
Cuts proposed in this week’s budget have landed on the shoulders of grassroots, non-profit and community-focused organizations. These cuts disproportionately impact Arts, Culture & Heritage in Nova Scotia, with devastating impacts on museums, youth-focused arts programming and education, grants for professional artists and groups, and budget cuts to organizations that work to support and engage cultural communities across our province.
On top of operational budget cuts, seventy two (72) Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage grant programs have been fully or partially cut. This totals more than $14 million in reductions. Reducing investment in this sector not only deflates economic growth and sidelines innovation, but also represents a strategic misstep in the overall advancement of our province as a place to call home. These cuts are the most severe we have seen in decades. In an already under-resourced sector, they are catastrophic. Our sector has spent decades leveraging modest public investment to deliver outsized social, cultural, and economic returns in communities across Nova Scotia.
The NS Arts Coalition stands with communities directly targeted by the government’s proposed cuts to arts, culture, heritage, education, and social services.
Major reductions are tabled to L’nu programs, African Nova Scotian programs, and supports for workers, youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, disabled people, and people living in poverty—amid ongoing housing, healthcare, food, and environmental crises. These cuts are not abstract austerity measures; they are targeted decisions that deepen existing inequities and disproportionately cause harm.
For more information about this campaign or the issues facing the arts and culture sector, please contact:
Ms. Chris O'Neill
Executive Director
Ross Creek Centre for the Arts
Canning, NS
(902) 599-2379
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