The Alliance has joined together with a number of high profile arts service organizations and arts advocacy groups from across Canada to form a national coalition called the Canadian Arts Coalition. This Coalition has been established with a singular focus to lobby the federal government for an increase in funding for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts in the 2006 federal budget.

The Alliance strongly supports the Canadian Arts Coalition and is a member of the steering committee. We urge you to join in the important advocacy work that the group is undertaking and ensure there is strong support from Western Canada for this initiative.

Our Advocacy Goal
The specific goal of the Canadian Arts Coalition is to secure increased funding of the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts by $5 per capita, which would effectively double the current annual contribution by adding approximately $150 million to the Council's annual budget.

Our Strategy
The Canadian Arts Coalition will implement a lobbying and public affairs plan designed to build support for an infusion of new funding to the Canada Council. This will include meetings with Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, public servants and key influencers and communication strategies to build public support.

Our first opportunity
All of the political parties will hold summer caucus meetings to refocus MPs and discuss strategy for when the House resumes sitting in September. Our goal is to make the case for increased funding to the arts to individual MPs while they are back in their ridings this summer, so that by the time they meet together with their caucus, the issue will be top-of-mind and we will have laid the groundwork for it to be included on the parliamentary agenda this fall.

For more information about the Coalition, download our backgrounder (PDF).

You can find additional contact information for your MP at the Government of Canada website. The most effective distribution method would be to send an email and then send hard copies by fax or mail to the constituency office.

Thank you for your help with our advocacy efforts.

Last Updated: Monday, December 03, 2007