Gloom and Glee: Analyses of the Provincial and Territorial 2013-2014 Budgets from the Perspective of Arts, Culture and Heritage

Abstract

In the world of provincial and territorial Budgets in 2013, some governments delivered good news in the shape of surpluses and lowered taxes. Others delivered bad news, which usually meant deficits and tax increases. However, for the cultural sector, surpluses were not necessarily received with glee, and deficits with gloom. Memories appear to be long in the sector, and as we reviewed the latest provincial and territorial Budgets, all of which were delivered in 2013 except for Quebec’s, which dated from November 2012, we found a certain “path dependency”. What had occurred in the 2012 Budgets often had a continuing impact on support for culture, and the cultural community’s reaction to the 2013 Budgets was sometimes at odds with the news they conveyed.