Today’s article examines household spending on cultural goods and services in each province 2023. Like a lot of data on culture, the context regarding today’s dataset is tricky. Given the limitations of Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending, I would consider the resulting analysis to be a reasonable approximation of consumer spending on the arts, culture, and heritage. The good news is that the estimates of spending on cultural items should be as accurate as estimates for any other items in the survey.
Please refer to the notes at the end of the article for important methods and limitations.
Today’s focus is on the following key indicators for each province:
Average spending on the arts, culture, and heritage per household
Total consumer spending on the arts, culture, and heritage (which equals the average spending per household reported in the survey, multiplied by the number of households in 2023)
Average spending on artworks and arts participation (a limited but reasonable approximation of spending on the arts)
Total consumer spending on artworks and arts participation
Spending details for all 19 items included in cultural spending are not provided for each province, due to space and time limitations. The 19 cultural goods and services are listed at the end of this article.
For some cultural spending items in some provinces, the data were not reliable and were therefore missing from the dataset. In those cases, I imputed the values for the missing data by substituting either national data (in most cases) or regional data (where available). The imputed data represent around 12% of total spending on culture in the provinces, with a low of 7% in Ontario and a high of 16% in PEI. The only arts item that was imputed is art and craft materials, which was imputed from national data in nine of the ten provinces.
Recap: Canadian households’ spending on culture in 2023
As I noted last week, Canadians spent an average of $1,623 per household on cultural goods and services in 2023, for a total of $27 billion. This represents 2.1% of total consumer spending in the country (after taxes, pension contributions, and gifts are excluded).
Canadian households spent an average of $531 on artworks and arts participation items, for a total of $8.8 billion. My category for “artworks and arts participation items” includes six items: 1) works of art, carvings, and other decorative ware; 2) books; 3) tickets to live performances; 4) movie tickets; 5) admissions to museums, zoos, and other heritage sites; and 6) art and craft materials.
Provincial comparisons of household spending on the arts, culture, and heritage
Average spending on cultural goods and services per household
As shown in the following graph, cultural spending per household is highest in Alberta ($1,846), followed by Ontario ($1,729) and a much smaller province -- New Brunswick ($1,628). These are the only three provinces above the national average ($1,623, although the level in N.B. is essentially equal to the national average). Household spending on culture is below $1,500 in four provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador ($1,485), Nova Scotia ($1,458), Prince Edward Island ($1,455), and Quebec ($1,441).
Cultural spending as a percentage of overall consumption
To put the average spending levels in context, the next graph highlights spending on culture as a percentage of total consumer spending (after taxes, pension contributions, and gifts are excluded). By this measure, New Brunswickers rank first, with 2.5% of overall consumer spending going toward cultural goods and services. Six provinces are slightly above the national average of 2.1%. In this case, three of the four largest provinces (Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.) fall slightly below the national average. However, the percentage all fall within a similar range, not far from 2% in all cases.
Average spending on artworks and arts participation per household
The third graph in today’s article examines average spending per household on artworks and arts participation. As was the case with overall cultural spending, this indicator is highest in Alberta ($619), followed by Ontario ($567). British Columbia ($564) is also above the national average ($531).
Reminder: artworks and arts participation include: 1) works of art, carvings, and other decorative ware; 2) books; 3) tickets to live performances; 4) movie tickets; 5) admissions to museums, zoos, and other heritage sites; and 6) art and craft materials.
Spending on artworks and arts participation as a percentage of overall consumption
The final graph was a last-minute addition to today’s article. I created it for a presentation in Winnipeg and found it compelling enough to include here. The graph shows that residents of each province allocate a remarkably similar proportion of their spending to artworks and arts participation: either 0.6% or 0.7%.
Provincial details of household spending on culture
British Columbia
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,606
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 1.9%
Total spending on culture: $3.6 billion
Number of households: 2.3 million
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 12%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $564
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $1.3 billion
Alberta
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,846
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.1%
Total spending on culture: $3.3 billion
Number of households: 1.8 million
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 12%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $619
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $1.1 billion
Saskatchewan
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,586
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.3%
Total spending on culture: $763 million
Number of households: 481,000
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 13%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $451
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $217 million
Manitoba
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,577
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.3%
Total spending on culture: $870 million
Number of households: 552,000
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 13%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $465
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $257 million
Ontario
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,729
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.1%
Total spending on culture: $10.4 billion
Number of households: 6.0 million
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 7%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $567
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $3.4 billion
Quebec
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,441
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.2%
Total spending on culture: $5.6 billion
Number of households: 3.9 million
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 13%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $470
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $1.8 billion
New Brunswick
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,628
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.5%
Total spending on culture: $584 million
Number of households: 359,000
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 8%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $456
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $163 million
Nova Scotia
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,458
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.2%
Total spending on culture: $676 million
Number of households: 463,000
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 13%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $411
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $190 million
Prince Edward Island
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,455
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.2%
Total spending on culture: $104 million
Number of households: 71,500
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 16%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $469
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $34 million
Newfoundland and Labrador
Spending on culture
Average spending per household: $1,485
Cultural spending as % of overall spending: 2.2%
Total spending on culture: $355 million
Number of households: 239,000
Imputed data as % of cultural spending: 14%
Spending on artworks and arts participation
Average spending per household: $397
Total spending on artworks and arts participation: $95 million
Survey methods
The Survey of Household Spending (SHS) is a bi-annual questionnaire on the spending habits of individual Canadians. Regarding this survey, Statistics Canada notes that:
“The sample for the 2023 SHS consists of 36,320 households across the 10 provinces”.
Since 2010, “the SHS data have been collected using both a questionnaire and an expenditure diary. The questionnaire is generally used to collect expenditures for more expensive and less frequently purchased goods and services. The diary is used to collect expenditures for smaller, less valuable items and those purchased more frequently. These expenditures may be more difficult to recall.”
The questionnaire portion was self-completed via electronic means, while the “diary was sent to respondents by mail”.
The dataset for 2023 was released in May of 2025.
The survey questionnaire was thoroughly redesigned in 2019, which means that much of the data since then is not comparable to prior years.
Links to the data sources
Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0222-01, Household spending, Canada, regions and provinces, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110022201.
Statistics Canada. Table 17-10-0159-01, Estimates of the number of private households by size on July 1st, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1710015901.
What is included in cultural spending?
After a close examination of hundreds of line items available in the SHS dataset, I retained 19 items as “cultural spending” and grouped them into the five categories, which are listed in descending order of spending in Canada. (The individual items within each group are also listed in descending order of spending in Canada.)
1) Home entertainment:
TV services and satellite radio services (including installation, service, and pay TV charges, but excluding streaming services)
Televisions
Audio equipment and home theatre systems
Video game systems and accessories (excluding for computers)
Pre-recorded media, music downloads, and blank audio and video media
DVD players, Blu-Ray players, and other video equipment and accessories
2) Cultural events:
Live performing arts
Movie theatres
Admission fees to museums, zoos, and other sites
3) Reading material:
Books and e-books (excluding school books)
Services related to reading materials (e.g., photocopying, library fees)
Magazines and periodicals
Maps, sheet music, and other printed matter
Newspapers
E-book readers
4) Visual arts and supplies category:
Works of art, carvings and other decorative ware
Art and craft materials
5) Photographic services and equipment:
Photographic services
Camcorders, cameras, parts, accessories, and related equipment
Survey exclusions and limitations
Because it is a broad survey of overall spending habits, the Survey of Household Spending does not provide information about some types of cultural spending. For example:
Musical instruments, parts, and accessories
Arts courses
Tuition fees for arts-related post-secondary programs
Textbooks (which the survey includes with other school supplies)
In addition, only a rough estimate of spending on live performing arts can be gleaned from the dataset. Live performing arts are grouped in a line item that includes live sports. I estimated each of these two components to provide a rough estimate of spending on live performances. (Here’s how: I used a 52% portion for the performing arts, based on the most recent revenue estimates from another dataset, Supply and Use Tables. However, these revenue estimates have fluctuated over time, and a 52% portion may be a fairly conservative estimate for live performances.)
The household spending dataset does not delve into the details of cultural items that are included in the survey. Here are a few examples of breakdowns I would have liked to see:
Spending on live performing arts by type of performance
Spending on books into physical and e-books, into fiction and non-fiction categories, and with separate categories for Canadian-authored books and Canadian-published books
“Works of art” and “carvings” separate from “other decorative ware”
The dataset examines cultural spending, not all types of participation in cultural activities. Free cultural activities, by definition, are excluded from the data source, Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending.