Vancouver World City of Literature - The Association of Book ...

funding agencies and institutions
Public funding continues to play a critical role in the cultural sector in British Columbia and
Canada. Total government spending on the arts in Canada was $7.7 billion in 2003–2004:
$3.5 billion by the federal government, $2.2 by provincial and territorial governments, and
$2.0 billion at the municipal level 12 . Among Canadian provinces, British Columbia ranks
eighth in terms of per-capita federal spending on the arts, ninth in terms of provincial
spending, and first in municipal spending.
There are a number of government agencies and arts groups that help support literary
culture in Vancouver and British Columbia. We summarize them here because of their
likely relevance to and interaction with the VCL initiative in Vancouver, and because their
orientation and programs further illustrate the types of roles the VCL organization could
play.
Given that many of these organizations represent significant potential sources of funding
for the VCL, we also review their current funding priorities and programs as they relate to
literary concerns. This is best understood as an illustrative, as opposed to exhaustive, outline.
Department of Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage is responsible for cultural policy within the federal government.
The department administers a range of policy instruments and programs in support of
publishing, notably the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
BPIDP is the leading industrial support program for Canadian publishers, and provides
direct contributions to eligible publishing firms, support for export development, funding
for supply chain enhancements, and project grants to industry groups.
The total budget for BPIDP in 2005–2006 was $38.1 million, of which $26.7 million
was distributed directly to publishers and $4.0 million committed to Collective Initiatives
projects. 222 Canadian-owned publishing houses participated in the BPIDP program in
2005–2006, 11% of which were from British Columbia (24 firms). Also in 2005–2006 (the
most recent reporting year for Canadian Heritage), BPIDP funding was used to support
a number of major public literary events and festivals, including Montreal World Book
Capital 2005, the salons du livre in Quebec, and The Word On The Street festivals in
various Canadian cities 13 .
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