Arts and culture sector contributes $131 billion to Canada’s economy

New report, Artworks, conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab and commissioned by Business / Arts in partnership with Canada Council for the Arts, reveals how the arts and culture sector drives economic growth and Canadians’ quality of life.

Ottawa, Ontario, October 28, 2025 — Canada’s arts and culture sector contributed $65 billion in direct GDP to the Canadian economy in 2024, growing faster and supporting more jobs per dollar than other key sectors like oil and gas, manufacturing or agriculture. These findings come from Artworks: The Economic and Social Dividends from Canada’s Arts and Culture Sector, a new report conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab.

The research, commissioned by Business / Arts in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, demonstrates that Canada’s creative industries contribute not only to social cohesion, community and Canadians’ sense of meaning and purpose, but drive measurable economic growth and regional development.

“The arts and culture sector enriches every aspect of Canadian life. It fuels economic growth, attracts talent, fosters belonging, and strengthens our communities,” says Aubrey Reeves, President and CEO of Business / Arts. “With the release of the Artworks report, we are demonstrating culture’s measurable impacts and making a clear, evidence-based case for continued investment in the creative economy that keeps Canada competitive and connected.”

Over the past three years, GDP stemming from the arts and culture sector has grown almost 8%, outpacing Canada’s overall economic growth of 4%. Meanwhile, Canadian international trade in cultural goods and services reached an all-time high in 2022, with $25 billion sold to foreign customers. Cultural exports have doubled since 2011, with top categories including visual and applied arts, audiovisual and interactive media, and written and published works.

Key economic impact findings:

• The arts and culture sector supports 13 jobs for every million in output, which is more than oil and gas, manufacturing, or agriculture.

• Since 2011, the sector has outpaced growth in key industries including oil and gas, wholesale trade, retail trade, construction, and manufacturing.

• Economic impact is highest in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and over $100 billion in GDP.

• The sector generates an estimated $17 billion in federal and provincial tax revenue.

Despite these exceptional economic returns, funding challenges threaten the sector’s continued growth. With typical arts organizations relying on equal parts government grants, earned revenue and private donations, declining support from public and private sources creates significant pressure. The federal government’s allocation to arts, culture and heritage is declining as a share of total federal spending, while Canadian private contributions lag at 0.8% of income — below both North American (0.94%) and global (1.04%) averages.

“The arts and culture sector generates $29 in economic activity for every dollar in federal investment— that’s an extraordinary return in addition to the social benefits that the sector generates,” says Andrew DiCapua, Principal Economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “Yet we’re seeing concerning trends in both public and private funding. If we want to maintain Canada’s cultural competitiveness and harness this sector’s full economic potential, we need sustained, strategic investment.”

The report also reveals significant social benefits, with higher per-capita arts grants generally associated with increased community sense of meaning and purpose. The arts build social cohesion, support newcomer integration, increase employability and improve skills development while positively impacting residential and property sectors.

With cultural exports at record highs and economic returns outpacing traditional industries, strategic investment in Canada’s arts and culture sector represents both an economic opportunity and a cultural imperative for maintaining Canada’s global competitiveness.

Access the Full Report Below

About Business / Arts
Business / Arts is a national charitable organization that champions business investment in the arts and works to build strong, lasting partnerships between the arts, business, and government in Canada. Through targeted programming initiatives and a connected network of arts champions, Business / Arts is committed to ensuring that the arts are recognized as playing a vital and necessary role socially, culturally, and economically across Canada. Learn more at businessandarts.org.

About the Business Data Lab
Launched in February 2022, the Business Data Lab (BDL) by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce provides free tools and real-time insights to help organizations understand Canada’s economy today and anticipate future trends. Supported by Statistics Canada and funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the BDL aims to ensure that rapid economic change and shifting business dynamics do not leave Canada’s decision-makers behind. By democratizing data on Canadian business conditions and offering future-focused, real-time, and local insights, the BDL enables organizations to better understand and navigate the Canadian economy.

Media Contacts:

Business / Arts
Erin Borch
Communications Director
416-869-3016
info@businessforthearts.org

Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Rewa Mourad
Strategic Communications and Content Specialist
613-614-2970
rmourad@chamber.ca

Photo: Pollination Ceremony by the Riel Gentlemen’s Choir at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, 2022. Photo by Adam Kelly