Executive summary

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport commissioned this environmental scan of the culture sector as part of the development of the Ontario Culture Strategy. It complements the Discussion Paper Telling our Stories, Growing Our Economy with additional background and analysis of global trends shaping Ontario’s culture sector and common strategic directions in other jurisdictions.

The importance of culture

A significant body of research shows strong evidence of the importance of culture to individuals, communities, and the economy:

  • individual and social benefits:
    • intrinsic benefits include opportunities for entertainment, shared experiences, contemplation, enjoyment, inspiration, and celebration
    • social benefits include improved educational outcomes, enhanced quality of life, increased mental and physical wellness, increased social cohesion, and revitalized communities
  • economic benefits include creating jobs, attracting tourism, spurring innovation, and contributing to GDP.

Like Ontario, many jurisdictions are developing or renewing their culture strategies and policies with a view to maximizing the individual, social, and economic benefits inherent in culture.

Forces shaping the future of Ontario’s culture sector

With the globalization of capital, labour, information, and markets, Ontario’s cultural products will have potentially unlimited scope. However, producers will be competing on a global level for both audiences and foreign investment.

The slowing global economy has given rise to private and public fiscal restraint, which is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. At the same time, the innovation fostered by culture is becoming more important in the emerging knowledge economy, and its contribution to GDP, through cultural tourism and revitalizing neighbourhoods for example, is becoming better understood. The private and public sectors are exploring ways to maximize its impact, but funds for culture will be deployed more strategically. The culture sector will need to respond to these changes with new approaches to generating revenue and seeking funding.

The digital transformation will continue to profoundly change the way culture is produced, distributed, and accessed. Its reach already extends beyond music and film and television production to digitized museum and public library collections. New ways for people to experience traditional or new cultural products will continue to emerge. The digital transformation is creating new business models and new opportunities, along with the challenge of finding and being found by target audiences or consumers among a vast, global array of offerings.

Against this background, Ontario is becoming increasingly diverse, getting older, and becoming more urban. Diversity is an important competitive advantage for Ontario in markets for cultural products around the world. At home, changing demographics call for governments and the culture sector to commit to inclusion and to making culture accessible to everyone, whether as creators or consumers.

Technology and changing demographics both contribute to changing consumer habits and expectations around cultural experiences. The proliferation of platforms and screen-based devices and a growing preference for interactive experiences will continue to influence commercial products like film and television, video games, and music, as well as interactions with museums and public libraries. Younger consumers, in particular, are also expressing their preference for socially and environmentally conscious products, produced sustainably. This preference will also be reflected in the culture sector.

Strategic directions for culture

Jurisdictions around the world are responding to these global forces in different ways, but several common strategic directions are emerging.

Recognizing diversity as an asset, many culture policies are fostering inclusion, and some are focusing on target groups such as youth, seniors, and people with disabilities. Jurisdictions are also creating policy to ensure inclusion and respect for Indigenous and Francophone cultures.

The role of culture in strengthening communities is increasingly being recognized. Many strategies incorporate culture into community planning to enrich quality of life for residents, create a unique sense of place, and reap economic benefits through revitalized neighbourhoods and cultural tourism.

With its direct and indirect contribution to GDP, many jurisdictions are examining ways of enhancing the economic benefits of culture, adopting measures to fuel innovation, promote their creative industries globally, and strengthen the financial capacity of companies and individuals producing creative products and services. They are designing policies to foster business innovation, assist producers in accessing international markets, and encouraging capital investment through new financing models.

Many jurisdictions are encouraging the culture sector in leveraging digital technologies for development and distribution. This is expected to increase the supply of digital cultural content and improve accessibility. The strategy generally includes fostering a supportive business environment, especially through intellectual property protection. Supporting the digital preservation and management of irreplaceable cultural heritage resources is another important element of this strategic direction.

In this changing environment, the need for new technical, business, and other skills has made investing in the culture sector workforce a high priority. In some jurisdictions, this begins with education and training in schools, especially training in digital skills. Leadership and management skills are another focus area as the aging population makes succession planning in culture organizations increasingly critical.

Most jurisdictions are encouraging collaboration and partnerships as a strategic direction. Partnerships and consortia can help creators and organizations meet financing and other resource requirements while sharing expertise. Collaboration across disciplines and sectors such as business, health, education, and technology can lead to innovation in art as well as new products and new revenue-generating opportunities.

About this environmental scan

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport commissioned MDR Communications to undertake this environmental scan on the culture sector in Ontario as part of the development of Ontario’s first Culture Strategy. Findings are based on a review and analysis of secondary source national and international literature.

The paper is organized into eight sections:

  • Section 1: Introduction
  • Section 2: Information on the individual, social, and economic benefits of culture
  • Section 3: Summary of the key driving forces of change in the culture sector: globalization, the economy and fiscal environment, digital transformation, and changing demographics
  • Section 4: Sector profile of the arts, including craft, dance, literary arts, media arts, music, opera, theatre, and visual arts
  • Section 5: Sector profile of cultural industries, including film and television production, interactive digital media (e.g., video games, apps), the music industry, and book and magazine publishing
  • Section 6: Sector profile of public libraries
  • Section 7: Sector profile of cultural heritage, including built heritage, cultural heritage landscapes, archaeology, and museums
  • Section 8: Key trends in culture policies and strategies in other jurisdictions in Canada and internationally

The Ministry recognizes that the scope of culture is very broad and includes many other forms of expression, creativity, traditions, and beliefs. This paper focuses on the key trends for the four sectors of culture currently supported by the Ministry.