Creative community applauds move that acknowledges "the full potential of Canada’s creative sector"
MONTREAL – The federal government will spend $125 million over five years to help boost the country’s creative exports with a range of initiatives, including a new funding program called Creative Export Canada designed to offer creators a leg up in the global market.
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly unveiled the country's first Creative Export Strategy Tuesday in Montreal, an initiative that promises to strengthen Canada's presence in international markets plus equip Canadian exporters with the tools they need to successfully export their projects.
"Our creative industries have a wealth of talent with incredible economic potential in international markets”, said Minister Joly, in the announcement. “I made a commitment to support and strengthen our creative industries on the world stage, and our new Creative Export Strategy will do just that. Our plan will promote Canada's economic growth, create well-paying jobs and showcase Canadian talent throughout the world."
The Creative Export Strategy will increase the export funding for existing Canadian Heritage programs, including Telefilm Canada, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Canada Book Fund, the Canada Music Fund and the Canada Periodical Fund.
The initiative will also boost services and support for Canadian artists through additional resources in Canadian embassies and consulates in cities such as New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Shanghai, Mumbai, Mexico City, Tokyo and Sydney. “By developing practical tools to support creative entrepreneurs, such as research, data gathering and statistics, the Strategy will provide exporters with relevant information to help them better understand their targeted markets and make strategic decisions,” continues the announcement.
The creation of Creative Export Canada, the new $7-million-per-year export program, will provide companies and organizations with funding to make it easier for buyers and audiences abroad to discover Canadian content. This program is aimed at Canadian companies and organizations that are ready to export and work in a creative industry or in support of one, such as music, film, books, video games, virtual and augmented reality or design.
"Creative industries not only contribute to Canada's economic prosperity, but also project the many Canadian voices and experiences that together demonstrate the shared strength and spirit that comes from our diversity”, added Minister of International Trade François-Philippe Champagne. “This new strategy will enable us to support more Canadian creative companies in expanding their reach into key export markets and enable more people—particularly small and medium-sized businesses—to share in the resulting benefits, including job creation."
In 2016, Canadian culture product exports totalled $16 billion, representing 2.5% of all Canadian exports.
Not surprsingly, Canada's creative industry had high praise for the new strategy.
"The ongoing digital shift and evolution of content distribution models have created new opportunities to showcase Canadian programming to a wide international audience", said CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin, in a statement. "The global appetite for independently-produced Canadian content has never been higher, and the combination of on-the-ground support in key international markets and the newly announced $7-million-per-year fund will help Canada’s independent producers capitalize on this demand. We look forward to learning more details about these initiatives and how they can best be served to help Canadian content thrive on the world stage.”
"Canadian creators stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the world. In an increasingly borderless and highly-competitive global marketplace, it is essential that we reinforce the mechanisms by which our screen-based creators can market Canada’s exceptional cultural products, develop business opportunities, and export their intellectual property, and by doing so, add billions to our economy," added CMF president and CEO Valerie Creighton. "We applaud the government for recognizing the full potential of Canada’s creative sector and its considerable contributions to our economy. It is a sector that generates sustainable jobs and prosperity from coast to coast to coast."
Photo of Tuesday’s announcement via Minister Joly’s Twitter account
