BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage set to host candidates’ forum ahead of municipal election
Amid concerns of rising costs and declining cultural spaces, candidates will share their stances on issues surrounding the city’s arts sector, September 22 at Museum of Vancouver
Vancouver City Hall
WITH THE APPROACH of the municipal election next month, the public will have the chance to hear directly from the City of Vancouver’s candidates on their positions on issues that shape the local arts scene.
The nonpartisan forum organized by the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage is set to take place on September 22 at the Museum of Vancouver and H.R. MacMillan Space Centre auditorium. Up to seven candidates will be present at the livestreamed event, responding to moderator-led questions spanning project funding, cultural infrastructure, affordability for artists and cultural workers, tourism strategy, and relationships with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
Among the topics expected to be covered at the event, municipal funding has been an ongoing point of contention over the years. In the face of climbing operational costs and dwindling revenue, arts organizations have been pushing for an increase to city funding and grants.
As part of Mayor Ken Sim and the ABC Party’s broader effort to have a zero percent property tax increase, the civic arts budget is taking a 12 per cent or $6 million cut this year—the second largest spending decrease in the 2026 budget following a 14 per cent or $5.5 million reduction for planning, urban design and sustainability. While arts grants were kept at status quo amid those cuts, arts leaders had instead called in 2025 for an “urgent” increase to operating funding. (By comparison, police funding was increased by 10 percent, fire funding was increased by six percent, and libraries got an increase of three percent.)
Vancouver’s arts and culture sector generates over $6 billion yearly in GDP and more than 24,000 jobs across Metro Vancouver. The city boasts the highest concentration of artists and cultural workers per capita in Canada.
The availability and affordability of cultural and heritage spaces is another major concern. In 2019, the City of Vancouver passed a 10-year plan focused on supporting the sector with accessible spaces. The outlined goals include the creation of 800,000 square feet of new, repurposed, or expanded cultural space, including 400 units of affordable artist housing.
The plan cited findings from a 2018 cultural infrastructure report commissioned by the city, which highlighted the increasing vulnerability of cultural spaces due to short-term rentals, displacement, and limited community ownership. But those pressures have only grown since, with decreased funding, inflation, and rising rental costs remaining key issues for the arts and culture sector.
The coalition organizing the forum is made up of more than 30 organizations that represent thousands of arts, culture, and heritage organizations across more than 188 communities in the province; members include Arts BC, the BC Alliance for Arts and Culture, the GVPTA (Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Association), BC Live Performance Network, and the BC Museums Association. Amid sectoral strains including pandemic recovery, the group has expressed an urgent need for a new action plan and more sustainable funding for the arts.
The forum will run from 6 to 7:30 pm and is free to attend, with registration required for both in-person and online attendance. More details can be found on the coalition’s website here. 
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