What the granting programs fund

With a mandate to "foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts," the Canada Council for the Arts contributes to the vibrancy and sustainability of an independent arts and literary scene that is relevant, diverse, accessible and inclusive.

Through grants, services and prizes, the Council provides funding to artists, arts groups, and organizations for activities such as research, training, creation, production, programming and engagement with audiences in their communities, across the country and around the world.

This information outlines important eligibility considerations for the Council's six main granting programs: Explore and Create, Engage and Sustain, Creating, Knowing and Sharing: The Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, Supporting Artistic Practice, Arts Across Canada and Arts Abroad.

To benefit all communities, the Canada Council for the Arts supports Canadian and First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals, groups and organizations that create, produce, disseminate, and promote the work of artists. The Council is committed to reaffirming and revitalizing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples from the land now known as Canada. The Council recognizes and supports customary, traditional and contemporary practices that embody the artistic and cultural activities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

The Council not only supports established art forms, but also artistic practices evolving from fusions, hybrids, experimental arts, emerging forms and multidisciplinary integrations. Artistic practices can embrace a wide range of expressions, such as classical and contemporary art, folk and traditional work from all cultures, community-engaged arts, work for young audiences, site-specific work, and urban or street arts.

Artistic practices supported by the Canada Council fall within – but are not limited to – these general art forms:

Circus arts
Community engaged arts and land-based art
Dance
Deaf arts
Digital arts and new media
Disability or Mad arts
The arts of First Nations, Inuit or Métis people, including traditional or customary practices
Inter-arts, integrated arts
Literary arts
Media arts
Music and sound art
Theatre
Hip Hop and Urban Arts
Visual arts, including architecture and fine crafts

The categories listed above are intended to be broad and inclusive. This means, for example, that the Council supports illustration, comedy, spoken word and storytelling, and multiple other art forms not specifically listed above.

Funding scope and limitations

The Canada Council’s funding complements other sources of public support that are more appropriately tailored for commercial, for-profit cultural industries and small businesses, or academic and social programs. The Council does not fund commercial projects in cultural industries such as comedy, music, film, television, and video games. The Council supports only a limited number of for-profit artistic organizations that are important to the dissemination of the works of artists and authors, such as literary publishers, record labels, and arts management services.

Although the Council acknowledges the creativity inherent in many activities, it is strongly recommended that applicants demonstrate their artistic intent first and foremost when applying for funding and ensure that projects provide professional working conditions for artists and cultural workers.

Eligibility requirements

To receive funding from the Canada Council, applicants must have a validated applicant profile and applicants must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the profile.

For individuals and groups, this typically includes demonstrating past learning or training, past compensation for arts activities, a commitment to a career in the arts, and recognition by other artists or arts workers.
For organizations, this typically includes demonstrating incorporation as a non-profit organization, a mandate related to the arts, a history of arts activities and a history of paying professional fees and royalties to artists and arts workers.

Each funding opportunity offered by the Council also outlines the eligible applicants, activities and expenses for that specific funding opportunity. For further information, please consult our applicant profiles and funding opportunities on the Council’s website.

The Council restricts the eligibility of some activities to avoid duplication with other sources of federal funding, please consult the “General list of ineligible activities” below, including some eligibility considerations applicable to some artistic practices.

General list of ineligible activities

The following activities are not eligible for Canada Council funding:

Activities proposed by someone younger than 18 years old
Illegal activities as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada
Activities that fulfill the course requirements of a program at an educational institution
Activities related to accredited educational programs or courses
Activities that do not pay fees or royalties according to the standards of the activity within the arts practice or sector
Activities that include capital expenditures, unless clearly indicated as eligible in program guidelines
Fundraising activities
Prizes and awards ceremonies
Contributions to endowment funds

Funding opportunities have specific eligibility restrictions; always consult the published guidelines before applying.

You cannot receive Canada Council funds for expenses already covered by another source of revenue. If a combination of different municipal, provincial, territorial or federal grants contribute to your activity or initiative, your financial information must clearly demonstrate the complementarity of the public support awarded.

Recognition

The Canada Council recognizes the distinct and unique place of First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists in Canada as creators, interpreters, translators and transmitters of an inherent Indigenous cultural continuity, as well as unique contributions made to Canadian cultural identity.

The Council accepts as eligible many activities in recognition of customary and contemporary artistic practices that respect and encourage First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultural self-determination and the vitality of Indigenous artistic practices and communities. For example: Pow Wow, Métis Jigging Competitions and traditional competitions that are rooted in First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures are eligible activities. The same principle applies to other cultural practices such as fashion design, body art and culinary arts.

Additional considerations

For some categories of applicants, the flexibility that is built into the Council’s grant programs is restricted in one aspect or another to better complement the mandates and the support provided by other federal agencies and departments.

Deaf arts, and Disability and/or Mad arts

For the Canada Council, Deaf and disability arts are diverse artistic practices in which being Deaf, having a disability or living with mental illness are central to the exploration of narrative, form and/or aesthetics. All mediums, practices and forms of artistic expression are recognized.
Please note that the Council does not fund projects whose primary focus is the delivery of educational, therapeutic, or recreational programs or providing social services.

Digital arts and new media (including immersive environments, web-based art, robotics, etc.)

Grant requests must be for works that are independent of the commercial industries of film, television and video games.
Only the creator or director of the artwork may apply; producers and producing companies are not eligible to apply on behalf of creative projects.

Hip Hop and Urban arts (including street dance battles, poetry slams, etc.)

Hip-hop artists, including street dancers and other urban arts are eligible for funding and the Council recognizes the contribution of Black and racialized artists in these energetic and evolving sectors.
Competition-based dance performances and other forms of ‘battles’ such as poetry slams are eligible activities.

Literary arts and publishing

The Council supports creative writing in all its genres and forms; including fiction, short fiction, poetry, drama, literary non-fiction, children and young adult texts, exploratory texts that use technologies, spoken word and storytelling, as well as illustration.
Literary non-fiction is one of the genres supported by the Council, with no restrictions on subject matter. All literary works are evaluated based on their relevance to program criteria.

Media arts (including film, video, moving images, etc.)

Grant requests must be for works that are independent of the commercial industries of film, television and video games.
Only the director or creator of the artwork may apply; producers and production companies are not eligible to apply on behalf of creative projects.
Animators can be the lead applicant when they are the principal animator of the project.

Visual arts, architecture, and fine crafts (including sculpture, photography, printmaking, art installation, etc.)

The Council supports practices in, and public discourse about, contemporary visual arts across all mediums and ranges of expressions, including fine crafts.
Catalogs, omnibus, monographs and other uses of the book as a tool, object or artifact in support of contemporary visual arts practices are eligible.
The Council supports the advancement of public discourse about Canadian contemporary architecture and its practice. The Council does not fund infrastructure and capital projects.