A respected Hamilton-based researcher has estimated that Canadian arts revenues reached $34.5 billion in 2023. Kelly Hill, founder and president of Hill Strategies, suggests that this represents a 35 percent increase from the $25.3 billion generated in 2012.
“The direct impact of the arts on GDP was $12.6 billion in 2023, a 22% increase from 2012 ($10.3 billion),” Hill wrote in his Substack newsletter, Statistical Insights on the Arts.
“In 2023, there were 198,300 full-time and part-time jobs in the arts, a 12% increase from the 176,400 jobs in 2012,” he added. “These relatively large percentage changes are based on the ‘nominal’ figures, before adjusting for inflation or population growth.”
He presented a pie chart in his newsletter based on Statistics Canada data. It showed that the greatest revenues were in visual arts at $14 billion. That accounted for 41 percent of the total.
The next largest category was film and video at $11.3 billion, representing 33 percent of total revenue. That was followed by live performance at $5.8 billion, books at $2.1 billion, and sound recording at $1.3 billion.
Hill acknowledges limitations
Hill excluded two major elements. The first was government-owned arts venues, funding, and support organizations. In addition, he did not take education and training into account.
“The measurement of ‘the arts’ here is imperfect and partial – a measurement of convenience rather than a measurement specifically designed to capture all facets of the arts,” Hill conceded. “It’s my combination, not one that comes from Statistics Canada.”
Hill has been conducting quantitative and qualitative research on the arts for 20 years.
“Over this time, Kelly has prepared over 350 reports and presentations on the arts and culture, giving him an unparalleled knowledge of the Canadian arts sector and arts-related statistics,” his company website states. “In fact, Hill Strategies Research and Kelly Hill have become widely respected across Canada and internationally as a leading authority on arts research.”
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