An underlying theme to the 2015 Canadian federal election and one that coloured our coverage is the idea of bringing Canada back to where the country had been. This is not a nostalgia 1950s "Leave It to Beaver" type flashback but along the lines of peacekeepers, a country that looks out for its fellow citizens across the globe, the cool older brother with the really nice, well-kept apartment.
If we had to pick one area where Canada really needs to go back, the CBC gets our vote.
Federal arts funding
3 of the 4 major parties have called for significant increases in arts funding, especially for the CBC. Here is a breakdown of their pledges if their party gets to form government.
NDP: Tom Mulcair
New Democratic Party Leader Tom Mulcair said an NDP government would provide $60 million over 4 years to Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, and the National Film Board.
The NDP promised to create a $10 million digital content fund for Canada's sesquicentennial in 2017. Mulcair has promised to reverse $115 million in CBC cuts made by the Harper Government.
Liberals: Justin Trudeau
Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau said a Liberal government would invest $380 million in arts funding. $150 million would go to the CBC. The Canada Council for the Arts would get double its current annual investment of $180 million. Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board would also get more money.
Greens: Elizabeth May
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May pledged to reverse the $115 million in CBC cuts and increase its funding by at least $100 million. The Green plan includes $1.5 billion for the CBC, National Film Board, Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada over the next 5 years. The party also resolves to prevent political interference in arts funding.
Other parties
We could not find any information about Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois on arts funding in the 2015 campaign. We did find this 2008 story where Duceppe decried cuts in arts funding by the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
As for Harper, we haven't heard anything from him in the campaign about restoring cuts made by his government.
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Arts as ambassadors to the world
The CBC, Telefilm Canada, National Film Board, and Canada Council for the Arts are outlets where Canadian artists can get help to tell Canadian stories and experiences in multiple arts forms. They are easy investments in that they pay amazing dividends. This makes the cuts to arts funding to be very frustrating.
Let's take the film "Away From Her": a Canadian short story author in Alice Munro who wrote, "The Bear Who Came Down the Mountain." Sarah Polley comes along and writes a screenplay based on the short story. Polley then directs a film that stars a significant number of Canadians that is filmed in Canada.
The film won 7 Genie Awards out of 8 nominations. "Away From Her" got 2 Oscar nominations: Julie Christie (Best Actress) and Polley (Best Adapted Screenplay). Christie won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for her role in the film.
The film also showcased fine Canadian actors such as Gordon Pinsent, Kristen Thomson, and the late Alberta Watson. More people discovered Alice Munro as an author. After all, Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The world knows who Xavier Dolan is in part due to arts funding in Canada. Yes, Dolan's talent is extraordinary, but arts funding is about taking that talent and helping arts fans discover how much Canadians have to offer.
The CBC and Radio-Canada is set up to showcase Canadian talent. Funding problems have led to not-so-great decisions. And funding increases don't necessarily lead to brilliant decisions. Restoring funding cuts give opportunities to make better decisions.
Helping CBC Part I: Show more Canadian content
Helping CBC Part II: Making money through cable channels
Helping CBC Part III: Filling programming holes
We have written considerably about the CBC and its funding concerns. We invite you to read our analysis of what the CBC should do, especially if funding is restored.
As for other arts forms, we would note that more money for them would lead to more opportunities to be part of CBC and Radio-Canada programming and more funding for CBC and Radio-Canada would lead to being able to show more of that Canadian talent without the pressures of the marketplace.
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Per Section 331 of the Canada Elections Act, this is not an endorsement for a particular candidate or party in the 2015 Canadian federal election.
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