Arts, Culture, and Heritage Participation in Canada’s Provinces and Largest Census Metropolitan Areas in 2016
Supplemental report to SIA47: Canadians’ Arts, Culture, and Heritage Participation in 2016
This report examines the percentage of residents (15 or older) of Canadian provinces and 9 Census Metropolitan Areas who, in 2016, attended or participated in cultural activities.
Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey included 28 questions related to:
- Making or performing art (8 questions)
- Arts, culture, and heritage attendance (20 questions)
Based on these questions, Hill Strategies created summary indicators of arts, culture, and heritage participation to measure the proportion of Canadians who:
- Made or performed art
- Attended arts performances or exhibitions
- Visited cultural heritage sites
- Read books
- Watched movies or listened to recorded music
These summary indicators are described in the next section, which is followed by the data analysis. The report’s appendix contains more detailed data, including statistics on movie watching and listening to recorded music.
The provincial data were queried by Hill Strategies Research from the General Social Survey dataset (9,844 respondents, including by telephone and online). There were over 600 respondents in each province except Prince Edward Island (n=318). The survey sample design excluded residents of the three territories. As such, no territorial data are available.
Statistics Canada released the custom data request on Census Metropolitan Areas with no qualifications (but did not provide respondent counts).
For further details about the survey methods, including full descriptions of each activity, refer to our report on Canadians’ Arts, Culture, and Heritage Participation in 2016.
Making or performing art: Any of 8 participatory activities
- Making music (e.g., singing, playing an instrument or remixing music)
- Theatre (e.g., acting, storytelling or comedy)
- Audio-visual and interactive media (e.g., making films, animation or videos)
- Dance (e.g., socially, in a performance or choreography)
- Visual arts (e.g., painting, photography, sculpture or drawing)
- Crafts (e.g., needlework, scrapbooking, woodwork, metalwork or pottery)
- Writing (e.g., poetry, plays, stories, editorials and reviews)
- Other participatory activities (specified by respondents)
Arts attendance: Any of 8 activities
- Public art gallery or art museum
- Live performance (drama, musical theatre, dinner theatre, comedy)
- Popular music performance
- Symphonic or classical music performance
- Artistic or cultural festival (film, jazz, folk, comedy)
- Performance of cultural or heritage music, theatre or dance (e.g. Aboriginal Peoples, Chinese, Ukrainian)
- Any other kind of cultural performance
- Movie at a theatre
Arts performance or festival: 6 arts activities above (excluding public art galleries and movies at theatre)
Heritage attendance: Any of 4 activities
- Public art gallery or art museum
- Museum other than public art gallery or art museum
- Historic site
- Zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, planetarium or observatory
Museum attendance: Either of 2 activities
- Public art gallery or art museum
- Museum other than public art gallery or art museum
Book reading (as a leisure activity; not for paid work or studies)
- Print books
- E-books
Movie watching
- Movie theatre attendance
- Watching a movie on any device
Listening to recorded music
- Music on CD, vinyl, or other conventional formats
- Digital music
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Canadians
Figure 1
- 99.5% of Canadians participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- One-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 86% including movie theatres and 73% excluding movie theatres.
- 68% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 70% visited a heritage site, including 48% who visited a museum.
- 77% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by British Columbians
Figure 2
- 99.6% of British Columbians participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Just over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 87% including movie theatres and 74% excluding movie theatres.
- 70% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 74% visited a heritage site, including 56% who visited a museum.
- 82% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Albertans
Figure 3
- 99.1% of Albertans participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- One-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 89% including movie theatres and 77% excluding movie theatres.
- 72% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 73% visited a heritage site, including 52% who visited a museum.
- 82% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Saskatchewanians
Figure 4
- 99.5% of Saskatchewanians participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Just over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 87% including movie theatres and 77% excluding movie theatres.
- 72% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 71% visited a heritage site, including 53% who visited a museum.
- 75% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Manitobans
Figure 5
- 99.6% of Manitobans participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Just over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 87% including movie theatres and 75% excluding movie theatres.
- 72% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 78% visited a heritage site, including 53% who visited a museum.
- 80% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Ontarians
Figure 6
- 99.6% of Ontarians participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 87% including movie theatres and 72% excluding movie theatres.
- 67% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 71% visited a heritage site, including 49% who visited a museum.
- 77% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Quebeckers
Figure 7
- 99.5% of Quebeckers participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- 40% made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 84% including movie theatres and 71% excluding movie theatres.
- 67% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 66% visited a heritage site, including 42% who visited a museum.
- 73% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by New Brunswickers
Figure 8
- 99.7% of New Brunswickers participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 83% including movie theatres and 65% excluding movie theatres.
- 62% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 66% visited a heritage site, including 34% who visited a museum.
- 70% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Nova Scotians
Figure 9
- 99.9% of Nova Scotians participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- 60% made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 85% including movie theatres and 71% excluding movie theatres.
- 67% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 71% visited a heritage site, including 51% who visited a museum.
- 79% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by Prince Edward Islanders
Figure 10
- 99.7% of Prince Edward Islanders participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- 61% made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 87% including movie theatres and 71% excluding movie theatres.
- 68% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 66% visited a heritage site, including 41% who visited a museum.
- 78% read a book in 2016.
Summary indicators of cultural participation by residents of Newfoundland and Labrador
Figure 11
- 99.8% of Newfoundland and Labrador residents participated in culture in some way in 2016.
- Well over one-half made or performed art.
- Arts attendance rates: 81% including movie theatres and 69% excluding movie theatres.
- 65% attended an arts performance or festival.
- 70% visited a heritage site, including 44% who visited a museum.
- 73% read a book in 2016.
Making or performing art
Figure 12
- Residents of Prince Edward Island (61%) and Nova Scotia (60%) were most likely to make or perform art in 2016, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (57%).
Arts attendance of any kind
Figure 13
- Most provinces have arts attendance rates that are very close to the national average (86%).
- Led by Alberta (89%), with five provinces at 87%.
Arts attendance (excluding movie theatres)
Figure 14
- Residents of Alberta and Saskatchewan were most likely to attend arts activities (excluding movie theatres) in 2016 (attendance rates of 77% in each province).
Arts performance or festival attendance
Figure 15
- Residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were most likely to attend arts performances or festivals in 2016 (attendance rates of 72% in each province).
Heritage attendance
Figure 16
- Manitobans were most likely to attend heritage activities in 2016 (78%).
- Followed by British Columbians (74%) and Albertans (73%).
Museum and art gallery attendance
Figure 17
- British Columbians were most likely to visit museums or art galleries in 2016 (56%).
- Followed by residents of Manitoba (53%), Saskatchewan (also 53%), and Alberta (52%).
Book reading (print or e-book)
Figure 18
- Book reading was most common in British Columbia and Alberta (both 82%) in 2016.
- Also above the national average in Manitoba (80%), Nova Scotia (79%), and Prince Edward Island (78%).
A custom request for select cultural participation data by residents of Canada’s nine largest Census Metropolitan Areas (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City) was submitted by Hill Strategies to Statistics Canada.
Data are available for seven key indicators, as outlined in the following charts.
Making or performing art (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 19
- Ottawa-Gatineau residents were most likely to make or perform art in 2016 (55%).
- Followed by residents of Winnipeg, Calgary, and Toronto (all 53%).
Arts attendance of any kind (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 20
- Edmonton residents had the highest overall arts attendance rate in 2016 (92%).
- Followed by Toronto and Ottawa-Gatineau (both 90%).
Arts attendance, excluding movie theatres (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 21
- Winnipeg residents had the highest arts attendance rate in 2016, when movie theatre attendance is excluded (81%).
- Followed by Calgary (79%) and Edmonton (78%).
Arts performance or festival attendance (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 22
- Winnipeg residents had the highest attendance rate at performing arts or cultural festivals in 2016 (78%).
- Followed by Edmonton (75%) and Vancouver (74%).
Heritage attendance (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 23
- Residents of Calgary and Winnipeg had the highest heritage attendance rates in 2016 (both 80%).
Museum and art gallery attendance (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 24
- Ottawa-Gatineau residents had the highest attendance rate at museums or art galleries in 2016 (63%).
- Followed by Calgary (59%).
Book reading (9 largest CMAs)
Figure 25
- Residents of Edmonton (84%) and Ottawa-Gatineau (83%) were most likely to read a book in 2016.
Appendix data (part 1)
Appendix data (part 2)
Appendix data (part 3)
Appendix data (part 4)
