Login / RegisterResearch firm highlights B.C.'s low provincial spending on arts
A new report is highlighting Statistics Canada data that shows B.C. spent the least amount per capita on culture in 2009-2010 out of all the provinces.
B.C. earned its spot at the bottom of the list having spent $54 per capita, according to data featured in an analysis by the Canadian company Hill Strategies Research.
The level of spending on culture by all provinces was $90 per Canadian on average for 2009-2010. Newfoundland and Labrador spent the most per capita at $156, followed by Saskatchewan at $149, and Prince Edward Island at $129.
For its analysis, Hill Strategies Research looked at data released in April by Statistics Canada on how much all three levels of government spent on culture in 2009-2010.
The analysis is featured in the June edition of the Arts Research Monitor bulletin, which is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
The Statistics Canada data covers spending on categories such as libraries, heritage resources, performing arts, visual arts, broadcasting, and other areas.
The analysis by Hill Strategies Research shows per-capita spending on culture by all three levels of government combined was lowest in B.C. for 2009-2010 at $206. That figure was $301 for all of Canada.
The analysis also shows B.C. saw the lowest level of federal per-capita spending at $53 and the second-highest level of municipal per-capita spending at $100.
Meanwhile, all three levels of government spent $9.6 billion in total on culture in 2009-2010, up 20 percent from 2003-2004.
