Facts and Stats

The Province supports research on the culture sector’s impact and role as an economic driver in local communities.

Data and Statistics are provided via the Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators produced by Statistics Canada.

Did you know:

• One in every five Canadian artists (20%) resides in B.C.
• With 39,700 artists or 1.4% of the total provincial labour force, B.C. has the highest proportion of artists in the labour force compared to any other Canadian jurisdiction.  

B.C. Culture Sector Facts and Stats:

• British Columbia’s culture GDP is the third highest in Canada and totaled $11.4 billion in 2024, a 5% increase from 2023, which outpaced B.C.'s total economy GDP year-over-year growth of 3.5%.
• The largest contributors to this rise, since the previous year, were the domains of cultural Education and Training with an increase of $67.4 million or 9.5%, and Heritage and Libraries at $16.6 million or 9.1%.
• Growth was also strong in the cultural Governance, Funding and Professional Support at $158.8 million or 9%, and Live Performance domains, which increased by $60.5 million or 8.6%.
• As a proportion of B.C.’s total GDP, culture accounted for 2.8% in 2024, the highest proportion across the country.  
• Jobs in the culture sector accounted for 4.3% of all jobs in the province, the highest share of total economy jobs among Canadian jurisdictions. 
• There were 129,377 culture jobs in British Columbia in 2024, 2.7% higher than 2023.  Economy-wide jobs increased by 3% over the same period.