Forces shaping the future of Ontario’s culture sector

Ontario’s culture sector will continue to be shaped by four major forces:

• globalization
• the economy and fiscal restraint
• the digital transformation
• changing demographics

Globalization

The world is seeing unprecedented acceleration and intensification in the flow of capital, labour, and information. Economic interconnectivity and interdependencies are rapidly increasing. Ties between people, companies, and countries are expanding, bringing increased trade, greater foreign investment, and more international movement of people.

Ontario’s culture sector generally, and the cultural industries in particular, are subject to these global influences.^{footnote 46[46]} Globalization gives artists and producers of cultural products opportunities for co-creation and production, and opportunities to promote and export internationally and attract foreign investment. At the same time, foreign cultural products have greater access to the Ontario market. Balancing the economic rewards of globalized trade while maintaining opportunities for Ontarians to create, discover, and participate in local culture will continue to be a challenge.

For museums and other cultural institutions, globalization provides both opportunities and risks. UNESCO recognized this in one of its Draft Recommendations, adopted in May 2015: “Globalization has permitted greater mobility of collections, professionals, visitors and ideas which has impacted museums with both positive and negative effects that are reflected in increased accessibility and homogenization. Member States should promote the safeguarding of the diversity and identity that characterize museums and collections without diminishing the museums’ role in the globalized world.”^{footnote 47[47]}

The economy and fiscal restraint

Globally, economic growth is expected to be moderate in the coming years,^{footnote 48[48]} giving rise to a general climate of fiscal restraint. In response, many jurisdictions have reassessed their direct business supports, including support for cultural production. Some jurisdictions have cut support programs. Saskatchewan, for example, eliminated the film tax credit. Others have redesigned their supports, as in Nova Scotia where cultural media tax credits were replaced with grants.

In Ontario, economic growth will be weak for the foreseeable future.^{footnote 49[49]} This forecast is being met with prudent program management, limited growth in spending, and the goal of eliminating the budget deficit by 2017-2018.^{footnote 50[50]} In 2015, Ontario introduced a new Program Review, Renewal and Transformation (PRRT) process as part of its yearly budget planning cycle. All government programs are being reviewed to identify opportunities to transform and modernize public services to ensure that they deliver the best value for every dollar spent. This prudent use of resources also responds to Ontarians’ increased expectations for accountable and transparent use of public funds.

In recent years, some reports, including the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services, recommended that the Ontario government should restrict or redesign its direct business supports, including Ontario’s cultural media tax credits.^{footnote 51[51]} As a result of the PRRT review, in its 2015 budget the Ontario government introduced changes to its tax credits and program supports to the film and television, computer animation, music, and interactive digital media industries. These changes were designed to improve sustainability and effectiveness by modernizing and targeting support.

These provincial and national economic trends have implications for the culture sector, which traditionally depends in part on public funds. Municipalities, especially smaller, rural, and northern ones, also face fiscal challenges,^{footnote 52[52]} and the impacts are felt throughout the culture sector. Municipalities play a key role in supporting arts and culture in communities across the province. For example, in most cases, municipal governments are the key funders for local public libraries and community museums.

In general, wages in the culture sector are lower than the national average.^{footnote 53[53]} About half of those working in the culture sector are self-employed, and many hold multiple jobs.^{footnote 54[54]} The cultural workforce is further challenged by issues such as gender equality. Women represent just over half of Ontario’s population, yet 80% of employees in libraries, museums, and art galleries are women.^{footnote 55[55]} Women working in the culture earn approximately 20% less than men and account for 75% of all unpaid labour.

At the consumer level, precarious employment may have implications for Ontarians’ spending on cultural activities.^{footnote 56[56]} At least one study in Ontario points to insecure work as a significant feature of the labour market in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions, affecting up to 44% of adults. ^{footnote 57[57]} The capacity of the culture sector to earn revenue will continue to depend on access to strong markets at home and abroad.

In this fiscal climate, public funders of the culture sector are targeting their funds strategically to achieve their goals within existing resources. The Ontario Trillium Foundation recently undertook a strategic review to align investment with improving outcomes for well-being, to ensure appropriate balance in the types of initiatives it invests in, to measure impacts of investment, and to streamline the application process to better meet the needs of applicants.^{footnote 58[58]} The Ontario Arts Council continually adjusts its programs to maintain a strategic course.^{footnote 59[59]} At the federal level, the Canada Council for the Arts is undertaking a major redesign of its programs, aimed at increasing flexibility and simplicity for applicants and better positioning the organization to respond strategically to the changing environment for the arts.^{footnote 60[60]}

Private sector support for culture is increasingly concerned with ensuring the greatest possible impact for investment. To attract philanthropic support, the culture sector must measure and demonstrate its impact.^{footnote 61[61]} In the US, where impact is being measured more systematically, charitable giving to the arts/culture/humanities in 2014 increased by more than 9% over the previous year.^{footnote 62[62]}

In Canada, philanthropic giving to the culture sector is relatively low but stable, hovering at 1% of all charitable giving in 2007 and 2010. The total was close to $108 million in charitable gifts to arts and culture in 2010.^{footnote 63[63]} This augurs well for the culture sector if it can successfully leverage this interest.

Business for the Arts, an organization committed to enhancing private sector support for the arts and culture sector, recently commissioned a survey of small, medium and large businesses and the public in order to determine the extent to which Canadian businesses support and value the arts. The results showed that 71% of large businesses and 38% of small and medium sized businesses invest in the arts.^{footnote 64[64]} The prime motivation was the impact that the donation might have on the community (93% of small and medium sized businesses supported the arts because arts and cultural activities make for a vibrant community). Quality of life, education, and employee engagement were also important motivators for investment.^{footnote 65[65]}

The digital transformation

The digital revolution has transformed the culture sector. Participation in cultural activities has increased, new networks and forms of interaction have emerged, and the production and distribution of cultural products has changed profoundly.

Lower barriers to entry are transforming our notion of cultural production. Digital technologies allow individuals to self-publish, produce, market, distribute, and sell their creations, diminishing reliance on traditional means of production, distribution, and marketing. Large numbers of professional and amateur creators are engaging with audiences directly over digital networks, and content creators can tailor their products to suit consumers across borders.

Through the Internet and social media, consumers are more engaged, participatory, and in control of their cultural experiences. The majority of Canadians accesses a social media network at least once a month, with young people more than twice as likely to be “social networkers” than people over 55.^{footnote 66[66]} They seek tailored, inspiring experiences that can be shared. Increasingly, they will expect to access and experience arts, media productions, and library and museum collections on line.

Connectivity will continue to spread, bringing work, home, and the surrounding environment into one seamless experience as “connected living.”^{footnote 67[67]} Globally, by 2020, there will be over 5 billion Internet users and 80 billion connected devices worldwide.^{footnote 68[68]}

With 84% of Ontarians connected, the province has one of the highest rates of Internet access in Canada.^{footnote 69[69]} However, two million Ontarians do not have Internet access. Those who are not connected are more likely to be older people with lower incomes, whose relationship to culture may not be affected by digital trends.^{footnote 70[70]} Rural households are said to face challenges in accessing internet service equivalent to the speeds that are available in cities due to factors such as remote location and challenging terrain.^{footnote 71[71]}

For the majority who are connected, the digital transformation has reconfigured the ways to access, share, learn about, and participate in culture. The availability of multiple devices and platforms encourages the production of new cultural products, feeding the growing demand of Canadian consumers. Phones and wearable devices are part of an expanded computing environment, and the last five years has seen a veritable flood of connected devices into the consumer electronics marketplace. Connected televisions, automobiles, and home appliances have joined laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, e-readers, and smartphones in everyday use, shaping engagement patterns. In Canada, ownership of mobile devices is consistently higher among younger people. As these devices continue to proliferate, there will be increased emphasis on serving the needs of the mobile user in diverse contexts and environments.

These trends afford significant opportunities for culture, but also present challenges. Understanding how to harness digital technologies to offer innovative products and services, operate on new business and revenue models, and respond to new forms of engagement will require a mix of creative, technical, and business skills.^{footnote 72[72]} As connectivity, data consumption, and production continue to grow at an exponential rate, the ability to connect with and engage the public on line, and to gather and interpret data on how people interact with culture on line, will be both challenging and necessary to remain competitive. Cultural organizations and companies will need to maintain their ability to adapt their products and strategies to digital opportunities and challenges as they evolve.

Changing demographics

Cultural diversity is a recognized, important driver of the creative economy.^{footnote 73[73]} With a population of 13 million, Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and the most culturally diverse. Ontario’s diversity fuels innovation and attracts creative individuals and companies to live and work here. Diversity is a critical strength contributing to Ontario’s competitiveness in the culture sector.

Over 300,000 First Nation, Métis and Inuit people live in Ontario, more than in any other province or territory. Ontario is also home to the largest Francophone population in North America outside Quebec. The Francophone population is increasingly diverse,^{footnote 74[74]} having for many years welcomed newcomers from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. One quarter of Ontario’s population, 3.3 million people, identify themselves as visible minorities.^{footnote 75[75]} Between 2006 and 2011, Ontario’s visible minority population grew five times faster than the population as a whole.^{footnote 76[76]} More than 40% of immigrants to Canada from all over the world settle in Ontario.

Ontario’s First Nation, Métis, and Inuit populations increased by almost 58% between 2001 and 2011.^{footnote 77[77]} Over the next 15 years, Indigenous people could make up over 10% of the total populations of Thunder Bay and Greater Sudbury.^{footnote 78[78]}

About two and a half million Ontarians are between the ages of 12 and 25. This represents about 18 per cent of the province’s overall population.^{footnote 79[79]} Ontario’s youth are very technologically connected and typically well educated. Trends point to more culturally and geographically diverse younger generations. Nearly 26 per cent of youth belong to a visible minority group.^{footnote 80[80]} First Nation, Métis, and Inuit people are the youngest population in the province, with almost half under the age of 30.^{footnote 81[81]}

Seniors (65 years of age or older) make up the fastest-growing age group in Canada.^{footnote 82[82]} There were an estimated 5 million seniors in 2011, and this number is expected to increase to 10.4 million by 2036.^{footnote 83[83]} As is the case throughout Canada, Ontarians are living longer and with less chronic illness or disability than generations before them.^{footnote 84[84]} The number of healthy older adults with leisure time will have an impact on the culture sector through increased cultural participation and consumption, cultural tourism, and volunteering.

In 2012, 26.3% of Canadians aged 65 to 74 and 42.5% of those aged 75 and over were people with disabilities.^{footnote 85[85]} Only 4.4% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 were people with disabilities.^{footnote 86[86]} Thus, although more adults will remain healthy longer, the projected dramatic increase in the number of older adults is expected to raise the percentage of people with disabilities. It seems likely that this trend will spur innovation in assistive technologies suited to the culture sector, in turn leading to increased diversity of expression.

The cultural workforce is aging along with the general population, and succession planning will become more important to assure a smooth transition to the next generation of leaders.^{footnote 87[87]} The culture sector will need to ensure that they have the talent, skills, and experience they will need. The transition to a new generation of leadership may provide additional opportunities to leverage Ontario’s diversity to competitive advantage.

Over all, Ontario’s population growth will be mostly in cities. Immigrants primarily settle in cities^{footnote 88[88]} and the number of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Ontarians living in cities is rising sharply. As the urban population is growing, rural and small town populations are shrinking.^{footnote 89[89]} Some point to cultural development as having the potential to stem the flow of workers away from rural areas.^{footnote 90[90]} The role of culture in revitalizing communities may be important for remote or rural communities facing population decline.

Ontario’s changing demographics could translate into opportunities to create more and different cultural products and services, activities, and ways to engage and participate geared to the changing market.^{footnote 91[91]} It may also create new domestic and international opportunities to market Ontario’s cultural products.