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Canada Music Fund to Receive $67 Million Boost as Part of $600 Million CanCon Investment in 2026 Federal Budget
The Carney government has outlined the details of its $600 investment to the cultural sector, which includes $67 million allocated to the music industry. The funds will be distributed to the Fund's five recipients, including FACTOR and Musicaction.
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The Canada Music Fund is getting a new boost from the federal government.
At last night's ADISQ Gala in Montreal (Nov. 8), the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Marc Miller, announced that the federal government will invest $67 million to the Canada Music Fund, as part of the government's promised $600 million investment into the cultural sector. The sum was first announced in June to provide "immediate relief" to the country's audio and audiovisual sector and confirmed for 2026-27 in the latest federal budget, which was tabled last week. Over the weekend, Ottawa gave a long-awaited breakdown of how the funds will be allocated.
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The music sector will receive its share of the relief investment through the Canada Music Fund, which was renewed through 2028 last year. The $67 million sum will be distributed to the five organizations that the fund supports, with FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) receiving $31.5 million, Quebec's Musicaction receiving $21 million, the Canadian Starmaker Fund receiving $5.7 million, the RadioStar fund receiving $3.8 million and the Indigenous Music Office (IMO) receiving $5 million.
Last November, the IMO released a new national report outlining ways in which the federal government could help Indigenous artists and their music connect with bigger audiences, notably through increased discoverability on streaming platforms. Each of the funds will help support and foster emerging Canadian acts and help them compete on the world stage.
“In a context where our music is struggling to reach its audience, this support comes at an important time. It will help support the work of the companies that produce our music, develop the careers of our artists, and promote them here and abroad. I would like to thank Minister Marc Miller for his attentiveness and his commitment to our industry,” says Eve Paré, executive director of ADISQ.
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Several other music organizations across Canada are celebrating the news, with the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) saying it is "thrilled to see government recognize the value that music brings to Canada, its businesses, and its communities." The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) calls the additional funding an "important step toward strengthening the industrial ecosystem that supports the development of great Canadian artists."
"For years, CIMA has argued that the best way to ensure Canadians hear Canadian voices is to build a strong ecosystem of dynamic, globally competitive Canadian music companies serving excellent Canadian artists," says Andrew Cash, president and CEO of CIMA. "These are the businesses that discover, develop and nurture artists, produce and promote Canadian music, help build audiences and create opportunities for Canadian artists to reach listeners both at home and around the world. This investment is an important commitment, and a clear indication that the government has listened to the music sector."
The federal government's new investment intends to bring stability to the cultural sector as "longer-term policy, regulatory and market conditions evolve," such as the Online Streaming Act, whose implementation continues to be the subject of much debate between the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), streaming giants and the United States, which has made the CanCon fund requirements for major foreign-owned streaming services a sticking point in trade negotiations.
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The new budget also introduced a new form of support with the Canada Creative Credit, a tax relief of up to $45,000 "for Canadian artists to foster creativity, artistic production and cultural entrepreneurship."
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