Which provinces export the most arts and culture products? Which have a trade surplus?
Analysis of international trade of cultural goods and services in each province in 2023
Today’s article delves into provincial data on international trade of cultural goods and services in 2023, following last week’s article examining national data on the same topic. Next week, I’ll look into national and provincial trends in cultural trade since 2010.
The article includes an analysis of provincial trade statistics in 2023 for culture as a whole and for different cultural areas, including an imperfect but reasonable approximation of “the arts”. The analysis provides actual trade numbers as well as per capita comparisons between the provinces.
Last week’s article noted that Canada exported $27.1 billion and imported $35.8 billion of cultural goods and services in 2023, resulting in a cultural trade deficit of $8.7 billion. Today’s post shows how international trade in culture is unevenly distributed across the country.
Only one province has a cultural trade surplus
Today I’ll start with the bottom-line statistics on surpluses and deficits in cultural trade (i.e., exports from a province minus imports to that province).
Only British Columbia had an international trade surplus in 2023, with $250 million more in cultural exports than imports.
Three provinces had large trade deficits in 2023:
Alberta: $3.5 billion
Quebec: $1.7 billion
Ontario: $1.1 billion
The other provinces had cultural trade deficits under $1 billion:
Saskatchewan: $800 million
Manitoba: $610 million
Nova Scotia: $430 million
New Brunswick: $350 million
Newfoundland and Labrador: $240 million
Prince Edward Island: $60 million
The per capita trade deficits (and the lone surplus) in 2023 vary considerably, as shown in the following graph. The three largest provinces (Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia) have the lowest per capita deficits and the only surplus. All other provinces have a per capita trade deficit that is higher than the national average (deficit of $218).
Exports by province
Cultural exports
Total exports of arts, culture, and heritage products from each province are depicted in the graph below, on a per capita basis. Two large provinces dominate exports, even on a per capita basis: Ontario ($1,023 per resident) and British Columbia ($895).
Why do Ontario and B.C. have the highest arts and culture exports?
In Ontario, the answer is twofold: very large crafts exports ($6.3 billion, or 87% of all crafts exported from Canada) and large exports of film and video ($2.2 billion, or 39% of all Canadian film and video exports).
In B.C., the answer is largely film and video: $2.1 billion in exports (38% of the national total). B.C. also has very large interactive media exports, although these are not included in my rough definition of the arts: $1.4 billion, or 58% of the national total for interactive media products.
All other provinces are below the national average ($675). Quebec ($478) and Manitoba ($321) are closest to the national average, followed by Alberta ($210) and Nova Scotia ($198). The remaining provinces have much lower cultural exports per capita: Saskatchewan ($104), Prince Edward Island ($75), New Brunswick ($73), and Newfoundland and Labrador ($67).
Arts exports
As I have done in many articles, I have combined exports in selected cultural domains and subdomains into an imperfect but reasonable approximation of “the arts”. The approximation includes live performances, visual arts (including crafts and photography), books, film and video, and sound recording.
As I noted last week, arts products represent 59% of the total value of Canadian cultural exports. Arts goods and services are important export products in all jurisdictions (but usually not as high as 59%).
Not surprisingly, there are many similarities between the graph below (arts exports) and the previous graph (all cultural exports). As was the case for all cultural exports, Ontario ($660 per capita) and British Columbia ($487) have the highest per capita value of arts exports. Once again, all other provinces are below the national average ($372). Quebec ($225), Manitoba ($162), Alberta ($108), Nova Scotia ($87), Saskatchewan ($39), Prince Edward Island ($35), New Brunswick (also $35), and Newfoundland and Labrador ($29).
Data sources and notes
Sources: Statistics Canada. Table 12-10-0117-01. International trade of culture and sport products, by domain and sub-domain, and trading partner, 2023; and Table 17-10-0005-01, Population estimates on July 1st, by age and sex, 2023 estimates.
Note: Statistics Canada also publishes data on interprovincial trade in cultural goods and services, but the most recent data are only from 2021. Because the data are so old, I’m not analyzing them here.
The international trade dataset is based on multiple sources, including surveys and administrative filings by cultural businesses, organizations, and individuals. As just one example, here is the main export-related question from the performing arts survey:
During the reporting period [of x to y], did this business receive revenue from clients outside Canada for the sale of products, services, royalties, rights, licensing or franchise fees?
If the respondent answered yes, they were asked follow-up questions regarding revenues from their exports and the percentage breakdowns of exports by country as well as into 1) goods; 2) services; and 3) royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees.
The series of questions related to imports is identical to the above, except that the questions refer to “payments to suppliers outside Canada” rather than “revenue from clients outside Canada”.