City of Vancouver Anticipates $55 Million in Cuts to Arts and Culture Budget

“Should I Be Worried?” by Justin Langlois. | Image: Justin Langlois.

In a briefing to Vancouver City Council on July 22, Grace Cheng, the City’s Director of Long-Term Financial Strategy & Planning, anticipated cuts of $55 million to the arts and culture budget as initially proposed in the City’s 2019-2022 Capital Plan. The looming cuts have emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will see an anticipated $250 million drop in the city’s capital funding, according to the Vancouver Sun.

The Sun article continues:

“The city’s finance department is still waiting for details of the recently announced $2.2 billion in new COVID-19 economic aid heading to B.C. from Ottawa to help public transit agencies and municipalities, Cheng said.

But, in the meantime: “We need to live within our means.”

She did not propose cutting spending on council’s top priorities, especially those where the provincial or federal governments are paying part of cost, such as affordable housing and child care. But it proposed major reductions in areas including water (with reductions of about $115 million), arts and culture ($55 million, mostly to the heritage program), transportation ($45 million), parks and open spaces ($40 million), and community facilities ($25 million).

[…] No decisions were made Wednesday, and the presentation was intended to update council and the public. Staff will provide a priority rankings of capital projects to council in September.”

The BC Alliance is troubled by the substantial suggested cuts. We will reach out to artists and community members shortly as we prepare to come together to advocate against the proposed cuts. Stay tuned for more information.