Which provinces and territories saw growth in their cultural economies, recently and longer term?
Analysis of recently released 2021 data
Today, I compare changes in provincial and territorial cultural economies using data from 2010 through 2021. There are three sections to the post:
Recent changes in cultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (i.e., between 2019 and 2021), after adjusting for inflation and population growth
Longer term changes in cultural GDP (i.e., between 2010 and 2021), also adjusted for inflation and population growth
Longer term changes in cultural jobs (also between 2010 and 2021), with no adjustments
There are significant differences between the provinces and territories in the increases and decreases in their cultural economies. Recently, real per capita increases in GDP have been rare, and increases were even less common over the longer term. The picture regarding cultural jobs is very mixed, with some jurisdictions seeing increases and some seeing decreases between 2010 and 2021.
The data source is Statistics Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators for 2021. The data are brand new (released on June 26), but the most recent data year is 2021.
The measurement of the cultural economy is quite broad, including (in descending order of GDP impact in Canada):
audiovisual and interactive media
visual and applied arts
government-owned cultural institutions (which are excluded from other areas)
written and published works
live performance
heritage and libraries
sound recording
education and training