Measuring cultural value in Canada: From national commissions to a culture satellite account |
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| Authors: | Claire McCaughey Nancy Duxbury Adam Meisner |
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| Institution: | 1. Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, Canadaclaire.mccaughey@canadacouncil.ca;3. Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal;4. School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada;5. Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, Canada |
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| Abstract: | In Canada, government initiatives for the measurement of cultural value can be traced to the 1949 Royal Commission on National Development in Arts, Letters and Sciences, and later evolved to include more empirical measurement with the Culture Statistics Program (1972) as well as research into the social dimensions of cultural investment. In 2009, Statistics Canada launched a four-year Feasibility Study to culminate in the creation of a Canadian Culture Satellite Account (CSA), an accounting framework to measure the impact of culture, the arts, heritage and sport on the Canadian economy. Taking account of both the recent and broader historical context out of which the CSA emerged, this paper examines its intended use and future plans. The CSA is a useful tool to the Government of Canada in supporting its activities related to the funding of culture, but this paper takes the position that it is not in and of itself a sufficient means for measuring the value of culture in Canada, and so it is best understood as part of a constellation of tools with differing but complementary approaches. |
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| Keywords: | cultural statistics Cultural Satellite Account Canada Statistics Canada |
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