Growth or decline in the cultural economies of the provinces and territories
I find struggling cores of cultural economies in most provinces and territories
Today, I analyze changes in the direct impact of the arts, culture, and heritage on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each province and territory. I focus on the core of the cultural sector: the production of cultural goods and services by cultural organizations, businesses, and individuals. I examine recent changes (since 2019) and longer-term trends (since 2010).
The “core” focus is a new approach for me. Ideally, I would like to focus on cultural industries as a whole, because that is what I think most people would think of when we talk about the “cultural sector”. However, the measurement of cultural industries as a whole seems to have become less accurate since 2017, which has had an important impact in some smaller provinces (but less so nationwide). I published a deeper dive into this issue earlier this year.
The estimates in this article represent the value added of cultural goods and services from establishments in the cultural sector. They exclude the value added of non-cultural goods and services from establishments in the cultural sector, as well as the value added of cultural goods and services that are produced in industries that are not primarily cultural.
A word of caution: the dollar figures in the article do not represent the entirety of the cultural sector in any jurisdiction. They represent, as noted above, the value of cultural goods and services produced by cultural organizations, businesses, and individuals. Here are two examples from the most recent data (2023). The second example hints at the oddness of the industry-wide estimates in some jurisdictions:
Canada: per capita GDP of cultural industries = $1,930. Per capita GDP of cultural goods and services produced within the cultural industries = $1,362, or 29% lower than the overall GDP estimate (a difference that seems reasonable).
New Brunswick: per capita GDP of cultural industries = $1,480. Per capita GDP of cultural goods and services produced within the cultural industries = $743, just one-half of the overall GDP estimate (a very large difference that might be partially due to data imperfections).
The analysis is based on Statistics Canada’s estimates of the direct economic impacts of culture in 2023, published last week as part of the Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators. I have adjusted their historical GDP estimates for inflation and population growth, resulting in what is commonly referred to as “real, per capita changes”.
Here is what my analysis shows:
The cores of cultural economies are struggling in most provinces and territories, not keeping up with inflation and population growth either recently or over the longer term. However, over both timeframes, there are a few provinces and territories that saw real, per capita increases.
Next week, I’ll continue my analysis of the provincial and territorial estimates in this dataset. I’m not yet sure whether I’ll examine cultural jobs or dig deeper into today’s GDP numbers. I do know that I will use the same dataset and have the same “core” focus.
The data source and important notes (including descriptions of “cultural goods and services” and “cultural industries”) are provided after my data analysis.