Nova Scotia’s proposed new budget cuts to the Arts
EDITORS NOTE: This article was prepared before the announced restoration of some sector cuts by the Nova Scotian Government on Tuesday, March 10.
Nova Scotia’s Premier Tim Houston announced the province’s 2026-2027 budget would have $300 million dollars in cuts, and $14 million of this sum will be in the arts, according to CBC. These cuts will affect individual artists relying on grants, as well as the community and cultural sector of Nova Scotia. In an interview with executive director at Nova Scotia Talent Trust Andrea Urquhart explains that their organization will have to cut the number of scholarships they will give out, as well as limit the community outreach projects and grants they supply to artists. This is because Nova Scotia Talent Trust has had their funding cut by 30 per cent, leading them to have to do “more with less.” The Ross Creek Center for the Arts in rural Nova Scotia, is in a comparable situation with their executive director, Chris O’Neill, saying one part of their “organization has lost 20 per cent of its annual funding, the other part of our organization has lost 30 per cent.”
These cuts go beyond just artist salaries as they are also heavily impacting community engagement. This includes, “working with seniors in nursing homes through music and through movement” will be lost because of these budget cuts, and these are some of the only things, “to actually keep them engaged in the world and to stave off some of the effects of aging,” said O’Neill. This is not just about artists but, “it’s actually our entire culture, in Nova Scotia, which is under attack by our own premier,” says O’Neill.
Within these budgets, specifically, there have been cuts to programs run by arts groups that, “put artists in schools, has been cut by 100 per cent,” says O’Neill. This includes Scholarships for, “Ilnu or Mi’kmaq youth and for African Nova Scotian youth,” says O’Neill, have now been completely cut. Developmental programs have also been under attack with “early child programs for MGM students” being cut.
This will not just affect artists now but “the impact on the arts and culture sector is going to be significant, and I think it’s going to last for a long time,” says Urquhart. O’Neil says she fears for the future of artists saying, “it’s the first time in 35 years where I would tell young people that they shouldn’t stay.” She adds it is not just the artists that will leave but healthcare workers too as they “want to live in a place where their kids can do dance classes or they can go out and see music or they can go out to the theater.”
O’Neill tells a story about an artist part of their group who’s, “partner is a healthcare worker doing her residency in Nova Scotia,” O’Neill explains that the artist said they thought “we were going to settle there permanently so that she could work and then I would work, but I think we’re actually not going to do that if these cuts go through. She will do her residency, and then we will leave for someplace that values culture.”
Despite these cuts, the arts sector will continue to persevere, as “artists are creative, and we will always find a way,” says Urquhart. She explains how the Nova Scotia Talent Trust has, and will continue to diversify their funding by establishing, “fundraising campaigns, donation campaigns, sponsorship campaigns, and sharing our cause, sharing our impact with the community so that the community gets behind us as well, and we’re not only reliant on government,” said Urquhart. For people who want to get involved O’Neill says, “make sure that you are holding your MLAs to account here.” For individuals not from Nova Scotia, Urquhart and O’Neill emphasize speaking out and supporting artists in Nova Scotia.