To Art or Not to Art?: The Cultural Sector's Struggle in Times of Recession

Recent data from an article in La Presse highlights a concerning trend: the unemployment rate in Canada has risen from 6.1% to 6.2% between April and May 2023. This uptick, while seemingly modest, underscores a broader issue of economic fragility, particularly within the cultural sector and the stability and resilience of industries that are inherently tied to cultural and artistic expression.

Over the past few years, Canada's economy has struggled to maintain a robust job creation rate. According to Statistics Canada, the job market saw an addition of only 27,000 jobs in May 2023, following a more substantial increase of 90,000 in April.

While employment figures have remained relatively stable in Quebec, Montreal's metropolitan area experienced an increase in unemployment from 5.8% to 6% over the same period, particularly impacting young people aged 15 to 24, who are experiencing the highest unemployment rates.

More challenges can be uncovered when we listen to many artistic groups and organizations voicing their concerns over insufficient funding in the provincial budget for 2024-2025, which they argue leaves the cultural ecosystem—comprising institutions, companies, and artists—in a state of emergency.

The Grande Mobilisation des artistes du Québec (GMAQ) emphasized the urgent need for increased budget allocations to support the arts, stressing that current funding levels are inadequate and threaten the sector's viability.

Some of the economic pressures are further compounded by high borrowing costs and rapid population growth, which have expanded the labor supply but strained job creation capabilities. This situation is particularly dire for the cultural sector, which has been hit hard by both the pandemic and subsequent economic policies.

The cultural sector plays a crucial role in defining Quebec's identity and contributing to its social fabric. The pandemic highlighted the sector's fragility, prompting emergency funding to sustain it through difficult times.

Despite this, the median annual income for artists remains starkly low at $17,300, significantly below the general population's median income of $39,000. This financial instability threatens the ability of artists to continue their work and contribute to the cultural richness of the region, and beyond.

How can we develop more robust support systems for the cultural sector in Quebec to ensure its sustainability? Would it be a good time to collectively think of innovative ways to shift the cultural sector into one that can be profitable, or does this go against the very reason why culture exists and should exist?

To be continued.