The Coalition for Cultural Diversity is pleased to present summaries of Canada’s national cultural policies for book publishing, festivals and the performing arts, film and video, periodical publishing and sound recording.

The Coalition for Cultural Diversity has for more than a decade promoted the notion that culture is unlike any other commodity or service. Confronted with the forces of market globalization and the risk of a homogenized cultural experience, countries must retain the right to adopt strong cultural policies to give voice to their own expressions. The adoption, in 2005 at UNESCO, of the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions marked the adherence of the international community to these principles, to which both the Quebec and Canada governments are extremely committed.

The purpose of this document is to present these national cultural policies in a coherent and comprehensive manner. It is our hope that in discovering Canada’s unique model, cultural professionals and policymakers will come to realize that culture thrives only when the proper « ecosystem » of complementary policies and measures is in place.