FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON - November 5, 2026
The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) welcomes the federal government’s continued investment in Canada’s cultural sector demonstrated in Budget 2026: Masters of our Destiny. This is a budget supportive to the arts, recognizing the importance Canada’s creative economy and cultural sovereignty.
The budget, tabled today at 4pm ET, names several investments supportive to live music, including $10M to Building Communities through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) and $15M to the Canada Arts Presentation Fund (CAPF). The new Productivity Mega Deduction, a permanent tax incentive, “will help Canada’s producers and storytellers invest in the equipment and technologies they use to create, including cameras, lighting and sound equipment, mixing consoles, editing workstations, projection equipment, and stage infrastructure”.
Also included is $20M over 3 years to Canada Council for the Arts, and the new Canada Creative Credit establishing the creation of a new form of tax relief for Canadian artists to foster creativity, artistic production, and cultural entrepreneurship in Canada.
The budget lays out the intention to build on the foundations of the Canada Music Fund to “provide further support to bring Canadian works to audiences at home and abroad”, and further allocates $600M to supporting the audio and audiovisual sectors. The CLMA looks forward to working with partners across government and cultural sectors to ensure investment in live music activity in Canada. Our artists need stages to stand on.
Live music activity in Canada is incredibly impactful—financially, socially, and culturally. According to the CLMA’s Hear and Now report, Canada’s live music industry contributes over $10.9B annually to GDP and supports more than 101,000 jobs. Globally, the music tourism market is projected to reach 436B USD by 2034, while arts and culture tourists are proven to spend triple and stay longer than their typical counterparts. With investment in our live music ecosystem, Canada is poised to compete internationally and grow in this global marketplace while providing a future for Canadian art and artists.
Over the past months, your association has been hard at work advancing this messaging and its recommendations to federal government:
Support the sustainability of Canadian live music businesses: bolster the Canadian businesses who present Canadian artists through the Canada Music Fund;
Establish a Live Performing Arts Accelerator to stimulate touring activity and support sustainable careers for Canadian artists and live performance workers.
Launch a National Music Tourism Strategy to position Canada as a leading destination for live music experiences.
For more details on Federal Budget 2026, visit here.
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CONTACT:
Canadian Live Music Association