Our Way Forward:

Manitoba's Culture Policy and
Actiom Plam

MARCH 2019

 

Contents
Minister’s Message..............................................................................1
What Culture Means to Manitobans........................................... 2
The Cultural Planning Process...................................................... 4
What We Heard................................................................................... 5
Addressing the Challenges............................................................. 6
Our Way Forward: Vision and Principles................................... 7
Our Way Forward: Action Plan...................................................... 9
Priority Area 1 – Fostering economic development............. 9
Priority Area 2 – Understanding and promoting
the value of culture and creativity............................................11
Priority Area 3 – Ensuring diversity, inclusion
and accessibility............................................................................ 12
Priority Area 4 – Supporting culture in
communities and everyday life................................................. 13
Priority Area 5 – Modernizing cultural
funding programs......................................................................... 14
Culture Action Plan
Fostering economic development.......................................... 15
Understanding and promoting the
value of culture and creativity................................................... 16
Ensuring diversity, inclusion and accessibility.......................17
Supporting culture in communities and everyday life....... 18
Modernizing cultural funding programs................................ 19

 Minister’s Message
There is a lot to love about Manitoba. But few things are more
important to us than our culture. Our province enjoys a rich,
diverse history, and our population is a fascinating blend of
people from Indigenous, Francophone, pioneer, and newer
immigrant backgrounds. Our cultural beliefs, traditions, values
and resources are at the heart of our vibrant province, and
they are a key to our well-being, prosperity and quality of life.
As we approach our province’s 150th
anniversary, it is an appropriate time to
reflect on the role that culture plays in our
everyday lives, and more importantly, to
begin to shape its future. This is an
opportunity to build our cultural capacity, to
create and enhance essential partnerships
and collaborations, and to promote and
improve our dazzling array of cultural and
heritage resources.
In 2017, we conducted consultations across
Manitoba, seeking out the opinions of
cultural stakeholders and organizations,
business leaders and individual Manitobans.
We heard many creative, thought-provoking
ideas about how to celebrate and build on
our cultural success.
As Manitoba’s Minister of Sport, Culture and
Heritage, it is my great pleasure to present
Our Way Forward – Manitoba’s Culture
Policy and Action Plan. Based on the wealth
of input we received, this plan expresses the
government’s priorities as well as Manitoban’s
priorities for the cultural sector, and builds
on the cultural traditions of our province.
Over the next five to 10 years, we will use
this action plan to help guide our decisionmaking process as it relates to our cultural
and creative industries.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

Our government looks forward to working
together with you, side-by-side, to achieve
our common goals. Through teamwork,
partnership and dialogue, we will create a
dynamic environment where artists, cultural
entrepreneurs and the cultural industries can
flourish. We will celebrate our local history
and rich heritage. We will reach out to the
rest of Canada and the world to let them
know about our festivals, our archives, our
museums and historic sites,
our collections and architecture.
Our thanks to the many Manitobans who
took the time to offer their views on the role
of government in supporting culture. We
appreciate your input about what we are
doing well and what we can do better. With
this insight, we will ensure our finite
resources are invested where they will build
and sustain our exciting, thriving culture, and
help our province reach its full potential.
Your contribution and ongoing partnership
make a difference.
Sincerely,
Honourable Cathy Cox
Minister of Sport, Culture and Heritage

1

 What Culture Means to Manitobans
Culture means many things to Manitobans who consider it an integral part of
our everyday lives, values, and communities. Culture is the arts, music, books,
poetry, theatre, film, museums and festivals. It is our architecture, our libraries
and archives, our cuisine and our fashion. Our culture distinguishes us from
other parts of the world, making us unique.
Manitobans believe that culture improves our minds, our health and our future. It also brings
us joy and contentment, and cultural engagement contributes to our individual and
community well-being. It is a public good and our investments in it also plays a critical role
in supporting healthy communities and engaged citizens.
We are fortunate to have an abundance of arts, heritage, library, archival and creative
industry activities and organizations that enrich our lives and our communities. As a
government, we currently invest just over $59 million (2017/18 fiscal year) through grants,
contributions and tax credits, in our immensely talented world-renowned professional
arts and culture organizations, our burgeoning cultural industries, our public libraries,
our community-based organizations and in our artists and cultural entrepreneurs.

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Our
Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

2

 Culture is our shared history, language, traditions,
beliefs and customs. We are fortunate to live in a
province steeped in history and culture, and we take
great pride in our heritage. We celebrate the rich
contributions of Manitoba’s first peoples – First
Nations, Inuit and Métis. And we celebrate our
pioneer and Francophone populations, whose
ancestors were among Manitoba’s first settlers.
All of these cultures are essential pieces of our
province and our nation.
Manitoba is a cultural mosaic. We welcome people
from all over the world, who have chosen to make
Manitoba their adopted home. We have nearly
150 languages spoken here, including seven distinct
Indigenous languages, and each year, over 15,000 immigrants arrive in Manitoba, bringing
new traditions, knowledge and customs, and enhancing our cultural diversity.
Culture is an economic driver in our province. In 2016, it accounted for $1.6 billion, or
2.7 per cent of Manitoba’s total GDP. It also provided direct employment for 22,500
Manitobans, or 3.4 per cent of Manitoba’s workforce (Statistics Canada).
As important as the economic impacts of culture are for our communities, Manitobans
overwhelmingly regard culture as something much more – it is a source of pride and
belonging. It is a means for Manitobans to preserve and share their stories and treasured
artifacts with the world. It is a path to greater understanding, a better education and a more
accountable society.
Governments play a key role in supporting and developing culture. So, too, do the people of
Manitoba, whose energy, inspiration and commitment are essential to helping our province
achieve its full cultural and economic potential.

 
Our
Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan

3

 The Cultural Planning Process
In May 2016, the Manitoba government launched a cultural funding model
and policy review, to identify how best the cultural sector and provincial
government could work together to ensure ongoing development and
sustainability in a challenging fiscal environment. Government created an
advisory committee of cultural leaders to provide their input on the design
of the review.
A five-month community consultation followed, inviting the public to Imagine Creative
Manitoba, beginning in March of 2017. Between March and August, the Minister hosted 15
community roundtable discussions across the province, with more than 200 cultural
stakeholders, business leaders and other organizations participating. There was at least one
roundtable in every region of the province, including one northern teleconference. There
were two meetings for Indigenous participants, two meetings conducted in French, and one
meeting specifically for participants from the business and philanthropic sector.
The roundtable discussions focused on various themes including
the community arts, professional arts and major performing arts
groups, as well as our heritage, archives and cultural industries.
In addition to the roundtable discussions, we also received
hundreds of comments and papers, through both the website
and by direct submission.

 Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan

4

 What We Heard
The community consultations invited Manitobans to provide their views
on culture.
Manitobans offered their thoughts and ideas on the role of
government in supporting culture, and they let us know what
we are doing well and what we can do better. They talked to
us about what was most important to them, their aspirations
for sharing and enjoying culture in their communities, and
their entrepreneurial ambitions for cultural industries, both
within and beyond our province.
We learned that Manitobans have great pride in our cultural
community and its champions and that they want affordable,
high quality, and accessible cultural infrastructure across the
province. Manitobans want to preserve and celebrate our
Indigenous, Francophone and multi-ethnic cultures, and
reconnect with language and traditional practices. They also
want to preserve and celebrate the local heritage of
communities across the province. Finally, it was important to
Manitobans that there is access to cultural activity for all.
Manitobans see an opportunity for a strengthened partnership
between the culture sectors and Travel Manitoba, and an
opportunity for more planning and marketing related to
cultural tourism, especially in rural and northern communities.
Manitobans recognize the value of arts education in public
schools and the need to increase those services. They see a
need and an opportunity for greater partnerships between the
education system and the cultural sector. They recognize the
essential role that public investment has in preserving
and enhancing our province’s cultural sector and they
expressed the need for increased investment in nearly every
area of culture.
Though there was great optimism, some concerns
were raised.

Supporting education
and training to help
artists develop
careers in Manitoba
Investing in madein-Manitoba creative
products
Supporting market
access, development
and export marketing
activity
Providing support
for both the large
arts organizations
and new and
emerging arts
Protecting historic
resources by
supporting the
organizations that
maintain them
Enhancing the role
of libraries as
community cultural
connectors

The participants expressed concerns about the future of
Manitoba’s cultural resources, the strain of over reliance on
our cultural champions, and the threats to the livelihood of
creators and cultural workers.
They’re concerned about the challenges facing the cultural
workforce and the difficulties in recruiting, training and
retaining volunteers, who are integral to the governance and
operations of cultural organizations.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

The Province has
a key role to drive
sustainability in the
creative sector by

5

 Addressing the Challenges
This is a time of significant change in Manitoba. Our population is growing at a
pace markedly higher than the national average and we are dealing with the
challenges of ever-changing technology. At the same time, we are facing
budget and resource constraints amid increasing demands for service.
This rapid pace of change touches every aspect of modern life, and it has a profound impact
on the culture sector. Cultural preservation, education, creation, production, distribution,
consumption and public engagement are ever-evolving, demanding new strategies to ensure
sustainability and growth.
We need to adapt. We need new tools. We need to find the best ways to support culture in
Manitoba given the current fiscal climate and demographic trends. We need to modernize
and streamline the supports we provide, to better address the challenges identified in our
community consultation and reduce red tape in our efforts to sustain and strengthen the
culture sector.
We need to partner with our creative sectors to ensure they are able to remain focused on
their consumers, to support them as they develop and strengthen their economic
partnerships, and to encourage and enhance sustainable business practices.
Together with many dedicated individuals, organizations and partners, our government is
working hard to ensure we meet these challenges.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

6

 Our Way Forward: Vision and Principles
Vision
Our vision is to build a province where all Manitobans have rich opportunities
to express ourselves creatively, explore and understand our history, celebrate
together in communities and access a wide array of powerful arts and cultural
experiences. To be a province where culture is valued, recognized and
supported for its contribution to individual, social and economic vitality.

Guiding Principles
The following principles will help guide our actions.
Contribution to the economy
Culture is an important economic driver, employing tens of thousands of people across a
wide variety of creative and cultural sub-sectors. Its contribution to the province’s GDP is
larger than it has ever been and it is one of our fastest growing industrial sectors. Manitoba’s
cultural policy is designed to support an effective business environment in which creative and
cultural industries can prosper. Our policy also recognizes that cultural assets and amenities
contribute to the economic vitality of all communities in every region of the province.
Creativity
Culture feeds our ability to imagine, invent, discover, and create. The development of all new
advancements in human endeavour—new disruptive and transformative technologies, new
business practices, intelligent cities—are spurred by the creativity that comes from cultural
experience. Simply put, imagination and creativity are necessary for all innovation. Our
cultural policy seeks to foster creativity at the community level and support the work of
professional creatives across all of our cultural industries and across the rest of the economy.
Diversity and access to culture
Manitobans see diversity as a strength and a source of untapped potential and opportunity.
Inclusivity and equity require proactive measures that can build a sense of belonging and
cross-cultural understanding. Such measures can expand and enrich the cultural offering
itself. Manitoba’s cultural policy supports the principle that all people should have equitable
opportunities to participate in and contribute to cultural experiences, regardless of their
geographic location, ability, age or background.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

7

 Indigenous culture
Our government is committed to reconciliation, which is founded on respect for Indigenous
nations and Indigenous peoples and their history, languages and cultures. Manitoba’s policy
supports Indigenous artists and views Indigenous self-determination as a fundamental
principle with respect to Indigenous cultural development. Our policy recognizes the
importance and significance of Indigenous culture and the reconciliation process.
Partnership
Individuals, organizations, and governments all working together is what makes a strong
cultural sector possible. Every area of cultural achievement depends on the collaborative
efforts of tens of thousands of people, a significant number of whom are volunteers. This
cultural policy recognizes and encourages the shared efforts of both the public and private
sectors that are needed to financially support, as well as develop and deliver, cultural
experiences for all Manitobans.
Stewardship and accountability
As with all government investments, Manitoba’s supports for culture should adhere to the
highest possible standards of public stewardship. Our investments should be responsive to
community needs, achieve the intended outcomes and provide value for money. We are
accountable for realizing the maximum results within the available resources, while
streamlining our funding programs and reducing the administrative burden on our partners.

 

8

 Our Way Forward: Action Plan
Though hundreds of ideas were expressed and discussed during the
community consultation,consistent themes emerged. Each of these themes is
outlined in the following pages as Priority Areas, accompanied by specific
activities necessary to achieve the goals of each priority.
Priority Area 1 – Fostering economic development
Manitoba’s cultural and creative industries
have emerged as an economic powerhouse.
According to Statistics Canada’s Cultural
Satellite Account, culture GDP accounted for
$1.6 billion of the total Manitoban economy
in 2016. There were more than 22,500
culture jobs in Manitoba in 2016, or 3.4 per
cent of all Manitoba jobs. This is more than
all jobs in agriculture; roughly equivalent to
all jobs in Manitoba’s air, rail, water and
ground transportation sectors combined;
and almost five times as many jobs as
in Manitoba’s utilities sectors. In terms of
GDP, the culture sector outperforms other
Manitoba industries considered to be major
economic drivers. Manitoba’s culture GDP in
2014 ($1.6 billion) was nearly equivalent to
that of crop and animal production ($1.8
billion) and electric power generation,
transmission and distribution ($1.7 billion).
Over the past decade, the economic
importance of culture has accelerated.
Globalization has expanded international
markets for Manitoba-made cultural
commodities and has increased commercial
opportunities for all creative enterprises.
Technological advancements have provided
new means of production, fostered new
forms of creative and artistic expression, and
provided new ways for creative and cultural
workers to collaborate with one another.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

And new technologies have given birth to
new business models, new distribution
channels, revolutionary marketing methods,
and vastly-expanded consumer choice and
access. Manitoba’s creative industries are
already reaping the benefits of these
changes.
In our consultations, Manitoba’s business
community spoke in unison about the
importance of culture to the economic
vitality of the province. Culture contributes to
a positive image and serves as a magnet for
commerce and trade, providing jobs,
attracting investment and increasing GDP.
The powerful links between creativity and
innovation were also noted, as Manitoba’s
economic future increasingly becomes tied
to its innovation agenda. At the local level,
culture is a potent force in community
economic development and tourism. All
agreed that building strength and resilience
in cultural organizations yields direct
economic benefits.

9

 To maximize the economic potential of
Manitoba’s cultural and creative industries,
we will:
• Ensure that provincial and regional
economic development strategies consider
the impact of culture and creativity in the
development of policy and initiatives.
• Encourage Travel Manitoba to continue to
strengthen cultural tourism – including
Francophone and Indigenous-led tourism –
as well as tourism related to arts and
heritage and support the development of
world-class cultural products and
experiences aligned with provincial tourism
priorities.
• Foster the growth of creative and cultural
small businesses by: (1) supporting the
development of cutting edge cultural
products and experiences; (2) supporting
market development, access to export
markets, and export readiness; and (3)
supporting business skills development,
innovation, entrepreneurship, access to
capital, and digital adaptation.
• Modernize and streamline support for
cultural labour force development,
ensuring that programs are responsive to
industry needs and contribute to skills
development and sustainable employment.
• Review Manitoba Film and Music as the
province’s principal creative industries
development agency, to modernize the
organization’s mandate, programs and
services, ensuring alignment with
Manitoba’s strategic priorities.

• Review the Film and Video Tax Credit, Book
Publishing Tax Credit, Cultural Industries
Printing Tax Credit, and the Interactive
Digital Media Tax Credit, to ensure that they
continue to align with Manitoba’s
economic goals.
• Ensure that Manitoba’s cultural policy
priorities are clearly articulated and
communicated at federal regulatory,
legislative and policy consultations related
to culture.
• Foster community economic development
through culture by raising awareness of the
role that cultural activities and amenities
play in attracting investment and business
in communities across the province.
• Support the review of the Manitoba
Centennial Centre Corporation’s business
model and operations, to modernize the
organization’s mandate, programs and
services, ensuring alignment with
Manitoba’s strategic priorities.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

10

 Priority Area 2 – Understanding and promoting the value of culture and creativity
Our first priority area had to do with
recognizing and maximizing culture’s
economic contribution, but of course
culture means so much more. In our
Imagine Creative Manitoba consultation,
participants talked about how cultural
participation improves physical and mental
health, and is especially important for youth
and the elderly. We heard about the power
of creative expression in challenging
circumstances and about the ways that
culture can help to restore spiritual and
emotional balance. Arts education can
reduce delinquency, increase the likelihood
of graduation and the pursuit of postsecondary education. Cultural experiences
make people more compassionate,
empathetic and more humane and create
the potential for reconciliation, hope and
healing.

• Celebrate culture and disseminate
information on Manitoba’s cultural and
creative achievements.
• Promote the value of cultural investments
to private sector partners, donors and
philanthropists.
• Maintain, support, and disseminate
information on cultural economic impacts
and employment data through Statistics
Canada’s Culture Satellite Account.
• Monitor research and industry intelligence
on the social value and contributions of
culture and maintain up to date
information on matters of public policy
affecting culture.

And yet, many felt that the benefits
of a vibrant and active cultural life can
remain hidden, unacknowledged or
taken for granted. There was consensus
that we need to recognize culture’s
value, increase its exposure both within
government and among Manitobans,
and celebrate our cultural achievements.
Manitoba’s culture policy will ensure
there is accurate data and information
regarding the substantial social and
economic contributions of culture to our
province, and ensure those contributions
are broadly acknowledged in the public
sphere. We will:

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

11

 Priority Area 3 – Ensuring diversity, inclusion and accessibility
In their responses to the Imagine Creative
Manitoba consultation, Manitobans made it
clear that diversity is valued and that all
people in the province should be
represented in cultural activity. Diversity is a
strength and a place of untapped potential
and opportunity. Consultation respondents
told us that valuing diversity means
broadening and deepening what culture has
to offer, multiplying forms of expression,
expanding the creative pool and enriching
the story of Manitobans overall. Manitobans
want to see barriers reduced so that cultural
programming and services can be accessed
by all those living with disabilities, specifically
people living in rural and remote areas.
Being more inclusive in cultural
programming – seeing diversity onstage, in
heritage presentations and archives, and in
the creative media – allows all Manitobans to
see themselves and their histories reflected,
thereby inspiring marginalized communities
and individuals, creating a sense of
belonging, connecting newcomer
populations with their new communities and
building cross-cultural understanding.
Manitoba’s culture policy will foster an
environment that is representative of
its population, including historically
underrepresented racial and ethnic
groups, LGBTQ* and two-spirited people,
people with disabilities, and Indigenous and
newcomer populations. It will be inclusive,
so that all people feel valued and respected
and have equitable access to the same
opportunities. It will be accessible to all,
and work to reduce barriers and foster
greater participation, especially among
seniors and people living with disabilities
in the community. We will:

• Work with funding agencies and grant
program managers to support diversity,
inclusion and accessibility in all processes
related to public funding of culture.
• Work with Indigenous people, including
First Nations, Inuit and Métis, to foster
reconciliation, preserve and promote
Indigenous history, traditions, languages
and culture, and support Indigenous artists
and cultural stakeholders.
• Respect, promote and support
Francophone culture in Manitoba, to
ensure a vibrant and visible French cultural
milieu.
• Work with the Francophone community to
access new markets for Francophone
tourism, and maximize the effectiveness of
Manitoba’s Francophone cultural
organizations.
• Work with ethnocultural stakeholders to
create awareness of the social, civic and
economic benefits of multiculturalism, and
support strategies to address racism,
systemic discrimination, marginalization
and social exclusion.
• Work with cultural organizations to assist
them with understanding and meeting the
requirements of the Accessibility for
Manitobans Act (2013).
• Ensure equitable opportunities to engage
in cultural activities across all regions
of the province, including urban, rural
and northern.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

12

 Priority Area 4 – Supporting culture in communities and everyday life
Our consultations revealed how important
culture is in the everyday lives of Manitobans
all across the province. When people make
music together, enjoy a play, take art classes,
attend a concert, write poetry, learn
traditional folk dances, celebrate through
festivals, visit a museum or engage in any of
a thousand other cultural and creative
pursuits—this experience matters. The
livability and vibrancy of our communities is
improved immensely through the presence
of arts and culture.
We heard about how arts and heritage
organizations encourage volunteer
development and community service.
Libraries help people become educated,
participating and compassionate citizens.
Archives preserve records of our society’s
accomplishments, support and protect
human rights and ensure historical
accountability. The records kept by archives
include our society’s accomplishments and
the events that we must learn from as
people. We heard about how public art and
heritage buildings contribute to a sense of
place and enhance identity. The presence of
a library, arts centre or heritage centre,
preferably all three, helps people stay in a
community.
Manitoba’s culture policy will ensure
Manitobans enjoy a rich cultural life in their
local community, and have access to cultural
experiences that allow them to explore
their creativity, tell their stories, preserve,
understand and celebrate their history, build
cultural understanding and meaningfully
connect with one another. We will:
• Encourage municipalities to integrate
culture into their decision-making and
planning processes, and to work with their
local cultural organizations to maximize
value from a thriving local cultural scene.
Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

• Incentivize private sector support for
museums and archives by creating a
heritage trust program that will increase
endowments for museums and archives.
• Support tourism attractions, museums and
festivals in communities to allow
Manitobans to celebrate and build
awareness of their stories, their histories
and their aspirations.
• Work with communities and provincial
agencies having land management
responsibilities to retain heritage resources
as part of sustainable development efforts.
• Support Manitobans efforts to identify,
protect and celebrate their documentary
heritage.
• Review and modernize programs that
support community arts and events,
libraries, heritage and archives to improve
the resiliency and sustainability of
community-based cultural organizations.
• Review the public library funding model
and realign provincial funding to develop a
strong and sustainable public library sector.
• Promote the value of cultural volunteerism
to strengthen the capacity of cultural
organizations and to encourage cultural
participation.
• Support arts education, heritage education
and cultural literacy through school-based
partnerships, community cultural
organizations, libraries and other
community cultural hubs.
• Support programs and initiatives that
seek to increase broadband connectivity
to First Nations, rural and northern
Manitoba communities.

13

 Priority Area 5 – Modernizing cultural funding programs
Improving our cultural funding model is a
high priority for our government and is
aligned with the broader goal of improving
government services to Manitobans overall.
As we traveled throughout the province,
cultural stakeholders told us that our
programs are too complex, that there is
program overlap, and that working with our
funding programs can be overly burdensome
and time-consuming. Our clients and
partners asked to spend more time on their
core business and less time dealing with an
outmoded and onerous funding system.
They asked for more stability, longer funding
cycles, and clearer program objectives and
performance measures.
Manitoba’s culture policy will modernize and
simplify cultural funding programs. It will
ensure government’s priorities for culture are
clear, and that government focuses
resources on achieving priority outcomes.
We will:

• Establish effective mechanisms for
communication and cooperation across
departments and agencies to ensure a
more efficient coordination of resources.
• Develop a government e-portal for grants
and contributions ensuring that funding
opportunities are well known and
accessible to all Manitobans and prioritize
the move to online grants administration
• Support the Manitoba Arts Council’s
modernization of its funding programs,
granting framework and assessment
processes. This will improve supports
for professional arts, community arts,
Indigenous arts, arts education and new
and evolving forms of art making and
will reduce red tape and improve the
transparency and accountability of its
funding programs.

• Undertake a regulatory requirements
review that will reduce red tape and lower
the cost of complying with funding
programs and regulations for cultural
stakeholders.
• Support a government-wide review of
grants to community-based, nongovernment organizations, to develop
recommendations for streamlining grants,
simplifying application processes, and
strategically managing grant-related
expenditures across government.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

14

 Culture Action Plan
Fostering economic development
Strategic Action 
Underway  2019 
2020 and   
   Beyond

Ensure that provincial and regional economic development
strategies consider the impact of culture and creativity in the
development of policy and initiatives.
Encourage Travel Manitoba to continue to strengthen cultural
tourism – including Francophone and Indigenous-led tourism –
as well as tourism related to arts and heritage and support the
development of world-class cultural products and experiences
aligned with provincial tourism priorities.
Foster the growth of creative and cultural small businesses by: (1)
supporting the development of cutting edge cultural products
and experiences; (2) supporting market development, access to
export markets, and export readiness; and (3) supporting business
skills development, innovation, entrepreneurship, access to
capital, and digital adaptation.
Modernize and streamline support for cultural labour force
development, ensuring that programs are responsive to industry
needs and contribute to skills development and sustainable
employment.
Review Manitoba Film and Music as the province’s principal
creative industries development agency, to modernize the
organization’s mandate, programs and services, ensuring
alignment with Manitoba’s strategic priorities.
Review the Film and Video Tax Credit, Book Publishing Tax Credit,
Cultural Industries Printing Tax Credit, and the Interactive Digital
Media Tax Credit, to ensure that they continue to align with
Manitoba’s economic goals.
Ensure that Manitoba’s cultural policy priorities are clearly
articulated and communicated at federal regulatory, legislative
and policy consultations related to culture.
Foster community economic development through culture by
raising awareness of the role that cultural activities and amenities
play in attracting investment and business in communities across
the province.
Support the review of the Manitoba Centennial Centre
Corporation’s business model and operations, to modernize the
organization’s mandate, programs and services, ensuring
alignment with Manitoba’s strategic priorities.
Arrows indicate time period of estimated work.
Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

15

 Understanding and promoting the value of culture and creativity
Strategic Action 
Underway  2019 
2020 and   
   Beyond

Celebrate culture and disseminate information on Manitoba’s
cultural and creative achievements.
Promote the value of cultural investments to private sector
partners, donors and philanthropists.
Maintain, support, and disseminate information on cultural
economic impacts and employment data through Statistics
Canada’s Culture Satellite Account.
Monitor research and industry intelligence on the social value and
contributions of culture and maintain up to date information on
matters of public policy affecting culture.
Arrows indicate time period of estimated work.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

16

 Ensuring diversity, inclusion and accessibility
Strategic Action 
Underway  2019 
2020 and   
   Beyond

Work with funding agencies and grant program managers to
support diversity, inclusion and accessibility in all processes
related to public funding of culture.
Work with Indigenous people, including First Nations, Inuit and
Métis, to foster reconciliation, preserve and promote Indigenous
history, traditions, languages and culture, and support Indigenous
artists and cultural stakeholders.
Respect, promote and support Francophone culture in Manitoba,
to ensure a vibrant and visible French cultural milieu.
Work with the Francophone community to access new markets
for Francophone tourism, and maximize the effectiveness of
Manitoba’s Francophone cultural organizations.
Work with ethnocultural stakeholders to create awareness of the
social, civic and economic benefits of multiculturalism, and
support strategies to address racism, systemic discrimination,
marginalization and social exclusion.
Work with cultural organizations to assist them with
understanding and meeting the requirements of the Accessibility
for Manitobans Act (2013).
Ensure equitable opportunities to engage in cultural activities
across all regions of the province, including urban, rural and
northern.
Arrows indicate time period of estimated work.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

17

 Supporting culture in communities and everyday life
Strategic Action 
Underway  2019 
2020 and   
   Beyond

Encourage municipalities to integrate culture into their decisionmaking and planning processes, and to work with their local
cultural organizations to maximize value from a thriving local
cultural scene.
Incentivize private sector support for museums and archives by
creating a heritage trust program that will increase endowments
for museums and archives.
Support tourism attractions, museums and festivals in
communities to allow Manitobans to celebrate and build
awareness of their stories, their histories and their aspirations.
Work with communities and provincial agencies having land
management responsibilities to retain heritage resources as part
of sustainable development efforts.
Support Manitobans efforts to identify, protect and celebrate their
documentary heritage.
Review and modernize programs that support community arts
and events, libraries, heritage and archives to improve the
resiliency and sustainability of community-based cultural
organizations.
Review the public library funding model and realign provincial
funding to develop a strong and sustainable public library sector.
Promote the value of cultural volunteerism to strengthen the
capacity of cultural organizations and to encourage cultural
participation.
Support arts education, heritage education and cultural literacy
through school-based partnerships, community cultural
organizations, libraries and other community cultural hubs.
Support programs and initiatives that seek to increase broadband
connectivity to First Nations, rural and northern Manitoba
communities.
Arrows indicate time period of estimated work.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

18

 Modernizing cultural funding programs
Strategic Action 
Underway  2019 
2020 and   
   Beyond

Undertake a regulatory requirements review that will reduce red
tape and lower the cost of complying with funding programs and
regulations for cultural stakeholders.
Support a government-wide review of grants to communitybased, non-government organizations, to develop
recommendations for streamlining grants, simplifying application
processes, and strategically managing grant-related expenditures
across government.
Establish effective mechanisms for communication and
cooperation across departments and agencies to ensure a more
efficient coordination of resources.
Develop a government e-portal for grants and contributions
ensuring that funding opportunities are well known and
accessible to all Manitobans and prioritize the move to online
grants administration.
Support the Manitoba Arts Council’s modernization of its funding
programs, granting framework and assessment processes. This
will improve supports for professional arts, community arts,
Indigenous arts, arts education and new and evolving forms of
art making and will reduce red tape and improve the transparency
and accountability of its funding programs.
Arrows indicate time period of estimated work.

Our Way Forward: Manitoba’s Culture Policy and Action Plan 

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