Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting of Ministers responsible for Culture and Heritage

New economic data on  culture, arts, heritage and sport in Canada available

 September 10, 2014 –  Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

 As Canadians mark the 150th anniversary of the  Charlottetown Conference, federal, provincial and territorial (FPT)  ministers responsible for culture and heritage met in Charlottetown to discuss the economic benefits and current state of the cultural landscape and  heritage in Canada. The meeting was co-chaired by the Honourable  Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and the  Honourable Robert Henderson, Minister of Tourism and Culture for Prince Edward  Island. At today’s meeting, new economic data for 2010 were presented that indicate  the arts, culture and heritage contribute close to $50 billion to the  Canadian economy and represent almost 647,000 jobs throughout the country. The  meeting took place the day after the first-ever joint meeting with ministers  responsible for tourism.

 The economic data comes from the Culture Satellite Account (CSA), a precise and reliable source using the most rigorous and transparent  methodology to date to measure the economic importance and activity of arts,  culture and heritage in Canada. The CSA stems from a productive partnership  between Statistics Canada, Canadian Heritage, all of the provinces and territories, numerous municipalities and  several non-governmental organizations. New statistics will be  provided every year on a range of indicators, such as gross domestic product  (GDP) and jobs.

Several other priorities and collaborative projects  were discussed at the meeting, at which the ministers underscored the  importance of encouraging and promoting the arts, culture and heritage.

   
• The ministers’ discussions focused on working together to grow the  creative economy; supporting heritage conservation through sustainability,  revitalization and re-use of heritage buildings; and TV channel unbundling.
     
     
   
• All meeting participants re-affirmed their interest in the 2015 Pan and  Parapan American Games, as they would give the provinces and territories a  chance to highlight and celebrate their culture and creativity.
     
     
   
• The joint session with FPT ministers responsible for tourism, which was  held on September 9, focused on the Road to 2017 and the celebrations of  the 150th anniversary of Confederation, which present extensive  cultural and economic opportunities.
     
     
   
• The Ministers committed to sharing best practices on facilitating youth  travel and to sharing their plans to commemorate the 150th  anniversary of the Confederation to ensure collaboration across Canada.
     
     
   
• At the end of the meeting of ministers responsible for culture and  heritage, the New Brunswick delegation officially invited the federal,  provincial and territorial ministers to their province in 2015 to continue  discussions on cultural and heritage matters.

Quotes

“The Culture Satellite Account  helps us measure the overall impact of our investment in culturally significant  events like the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown  Conference and Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017. It  strikingly illustrates the importance of the social impact of arts, culture and  heritage that helps shape our identity.”

 —The Honourable Robert Henderson,  Minister of Tourism and Culture, Prince Edward Island

“On the road to 2017, the 150th  anniversary of Confederation, we will continue to invest in the arts, culture and  heritage in order to enrich the lives of Canadians and support economic growth.  We will continue to cooperate on projects of mutual interest for the benefit of  all Canadians.”

 —The Honourable Shelly Glover,  Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Culture Satellite Account Quick Facts

   
• The arts, heritage and cultural  industries, which account  for 3.1 percent of Canada’s total GDP, is larger than  the accommodation and food services industry and twice as big as the  agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries.
     
     
   
• Total cultural GDP includes  heritage and libraries ($781 million), live performance ($1.9 billion), visual  and applied arts ($10.2 billion), written and published works ($10 billion),  audio-visual and interactive media ($14.8 billion), sound recording ($568 million),  and education, support and multi-domain ($9.6 billion).
     
     
   
• Development of the CSA continues in order to broaden its scope.  The first publicly available figures at the provincial and territorial level  are expected in 2015, followed by work to determine the feasibility of  reporting at other levels.
     
     
   
• Sport also contributes close to  $4.5 billion to the Canadian economy and represents more than 93,500 jobs  throughout the country.

Stay Connected

Follow  us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Flickr.

For more information (media only), please contact:

Marisa Monnin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
819-997-7788
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.ca