While this renewed commitment is encouraging, it also highlights the urgent need for sustained, long-term investment to strengthen the dance, arts and culture sector. Continued, predictable funding is essential to ensure that artists and cultural workers can thrive, innovate, and enrich communities across the country.

The Canada Council for the Arts is not asked to reduce its budget. Still, the Department of Canadian Heritage is expected to receive reductions as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review. It will deliver up to 15% in savings over the next three fiscal years.

Key Items of Relevance to the Dance Sector

• $6 million over three years, starting in 2026-27 for the Canada Council for the Arts to support professional artists and arts organizations;
• $46.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Canada Arts Presentation Fund to support professionally presented arts festivals or performing arts series;
• $21 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program to support local festivals;
• The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will be reduced and reoriented to focus solely on funding specialized equipment in the cultural sector.
• $594.7 million over two years, starting in 2026-27, to Employment and Social Development Canada for Canada Summer Jobs to support around 100,000 summer jobs in summer 2026.
• Launching a new Build Communities Strong Fund, to be administered by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, and proposes to provide $51.0 billion over 10 years, starting in 2026-27, and $3.0 billion per year ongoing in new and existing funding for this initiative, including through funding to provincial and territorial governments—and through them to municipalities—to support a wide range of infrastructure projects and help our local communities build Canada strong.

 Key Items of relevance to the arts and cultural sector

• $48 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Canada Music Fund to enhance the careers of Canadian artists while strengthening the competitiveness and stability of the Canadian music sector;
• $150 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Telefilm Canada to support Canada’s vibrant film industry;
• $127.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Canada Media Fund to support Canada’s audio-visual content creators;
• $26.1 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to the National Film Board to produce and share Canadian content with the world;
• $150 million in 2025-26 for CBC/Radio-Canada to strengthen its mandate to serve the public and to better reflect the needs of Canadians. The Government will explore modernizing CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to strengthen independence, and is working with CBC/Radio Canada to explore participation in Eurovision;
• $20 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Celebration and Commemoration Program to support Canada Day celebrations; community anniversaries, and community-initiated capital projects;
• $4 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage for the Celebration and Commemoration Program to support National Acadian Day; and
• $6 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to Canadian Heritage to support the purchase of Canadian content for the TV5MONDEplus platform.
• Amendment of the Copyright Act to create an Artist’s Resale Right.

You can read here the full federal government’s first budget under Prime Minister Carney, titled Canada Strong. At more than 490 pages, it offers a comprehensive look at federal priorities — from fiscal and economic indicators to debt management and new policy programs.

Within this broader fiscal framework, the arts and culture sector receives modest but important attention. While the budget includes some targeted investments through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts, these largely extend short-term funding that was set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. These measures are welcome, but they fall short of the sustained, predictable investment needed to ensure that Canada’s artists, cultural workers, and organizations can do what they do best: create and illuminate our lives.

Thanks to the PAA, Advisory team for their analysis.