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artsnb March 17 2026

New Brunswick updates arts funding model

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The New Brunswick government has announced a new approach to arts funding.

Administration of the government’s remodeled Operational Support Program is being transferred to the New Brunswick Arts Board, also known as artsnb, an arm’s-length arts funding agency.

“Transferring administration of this updated program to artsnb leverages the organization’s expertise in jury-based assessment and aligns the delivery of funding for creative purposes for both organizations and individual artists under one roof,” Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Isabelle Thériault said in a statement.

It’s one of several steps the government is taking to modernize its overall approach to supporting the arts.

“This transition builds on artsnb’s long-standing role as a key partner in delivering public support for the arts,” said artsnb chair Jason Guerrette.

With the change, artsnb will be responsible for administering operational funding for eligible arts organizations. It’s expected applicants will benefit from a single, clearly defined access point for creation, development and operational support.

Project-based and sector-development funding will continue to be administered by the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.

A woman is painting a blue and yellow artwork.

Arts groups call for more NB cultural investment

New Brunswick’s arts sector is calling on the province to increase support for the arts.

A new report from ArtsLink NB reveals that the industry contributes $1.73 billion to the GDP and employs more than 7,600 people.

Julie Whitenect, Executive Director of ArtsLink NB, said those numbers highlight the sector’s importance but also reveal how little is being invested in it.

“Currently, the government spends 0.3 per cent of their total budget on arts and culture,” she said.

“So we’re hoping to move that up less than a percent.”

Whitenect said New Brunswick has ranked lowest or second lowest in per‑capita cultural investment for more than a decade.

She added that organizations have been stretched thin, with rising costs and limited resources putting pressure on staff and programming.

Advocates are calling for a scaled increase in the 2026–27 provincial budget, including $6 million to meet Atlantic benchmarks and $22 million to reach the national average.

Whitenect said stronger support would expand the labour force, increase artistic activity and help attract people to the province.

“If there were more favourable supports, then we would have an expansion of that labour force,” she said.

“We would have more artistic activities, and you would see people coming here specifically for that at a rate that is currently not happening.”

She warned that without new investment, organizations risk losing skilled workers to other provinces or out of the sector entirely.

“Arts organizations have been operating way past capacity for many years,” Whitenect said.

“There is a point where that can’t happen anymore, where you lose people to burnout.”

The report also points to strong public demand, with households in New Brunswick spending 2.5 per cent of their budgets on cultural goods and services — the highest proportion in Canada.

Whitenect said the sector’s call is also an invitation to collaborate.

“This is very much an invitation to participate in the strategic growth of the sector,” she said.