It’s time to be heard.

We are so thrilled and humbled that so many people answered our call to send letters to MPS this fall.

The Campaign for Culture mobilized 10,456 Canadians who sent 52,280 letters over five weeks.

What is the Campaign for Culture?

The 2025-26 Campaign for Culture is the coalition’s call on Canadians to ensure that all Members of Parliament  support investment in the Arts and Culture sector in Canada through new investment of $140 Million in the Canada Council for the Arts and $190 Million in Arts Programs of Canadian Heritage  – and no cuts. 

We are very concerned that the federal government is going to ignore their own platform to strengthen Canadian culture in a time when we need it most, and potentially cut our primary funding mechanisms even more. 

Many thousands of individual artists and cultural organizations across Canada are supported in part by funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Department of Canadian Heritage. This has a clear and tangible impact on the economies,  tourism, health and well-being, sense of belonging and shared identities that shape our country. It is time to invest in our communities, our economy, and our nation through a reinvestment in Arts and Culture. 

Thanks to the support of the Rozsa Foundation, we launched a letter campaign that over 10,000 people used, submitting over 52,000 letters, making it the largest letter campaign for culture in recent memory. 

1. We sent letters and spoke to our MPs, Ministers, and Ministry staff!

Over 10,00 people sent letters from every region, province, and territory. Both rural and urban people who care about the arts in Canada submitted their requests for the government to invest in the November 2025 budget, specifically through  new investment.

And it helped. 

Not only did the Fall budget invest in cultural programs of Canadian Heritage (PCH), the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) was not cut, even though there had been a potential of a significant cut, and in fact, the CCA got an extremely modest budget increase. 

The Canadian Arts Coalition continues to advocate for the full $140 million investment in the Canada Council because it has a large and lasting impact on the sector, from the individual artist and ad hoc collectives to the largest cultural institutions across the country. 

With the Federal budget now being tabled in the fall, there is a potential opportunity to advocate for right-sizing the CCA in the Spring Economic Statement. The Coalition pushed this message during Arts Day on the Hill, and are meeting with MPs, Ministry staff, and others to have the increase included in the Spring Statement. 

In the meantime, the Canada Council was able to be responsive to the sector as existing funds allowed, with the recent core grant program bringing in some new clients, and 74% of core clients getting a modest increase. As Craig Holzschuh, Senior Strategic Advisor for Stakeholder Relations of the Canada Council, said at our recent all-members’ meeting, the CCA will also work on a transparent process for any new permanent funds, and will not rely solely on applications which were made without that context. 

To keep in touch and become part of our advocacy,  please consider becoming a member of the Canadian Arts Coalition. We need voices like yours to ensure that Arts and Culture in Canada is protected and nourished and can be part of the strategic vision for Canada. 

You can find out more about membership here, and you can sign up for our E-news here. Part of having a paid membership includes access to our all-member’s meetings with more detailed information from our Government Relations Firm, PAA, as well as special guests, including staff from government departments or ministries that are relevant to our sector.