Departmental Results Report 2024-25 — Canadian Heritage

On this page

• At a glance
  • Key priorities
  • Highlights for Canadian Heritage in 2024–25
  • Summary of results
• From the Minister
• Results – what we achieved
  • Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture
  • Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration
  • Core responsibility 3: Sport
  • Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion
  • Core responsibility 5: Official languages
  • Internal services
• Spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Funding
  • Financial statement highlights
  • Human resources
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Corporate information
  • Departmental profile
  • Departmental contact information
• Definitions

At a glance

This departmental results report details Canadian Heritage’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results outlined in its 2024–25 Departmental Plan.

• Raison d’être, mandate and role

Key priorities

Canadian Heritage identified the following key priorities for 2024–25:

• Modernizing institutions and funding tools supporting Canada’s creative sector. This includes securing permanent funding to support the Indigenous Screen Office, targeted investments in public service media and the launch of an Advisory Committee to inform the future direction of CBC/Radio-Canada, culminating in the then Minister of Canadian Heritage’s publication The Future of CBC/Radio-Canada. The Department also supported implementation of the Online Streaming Act and Online News Act and strengthened international engagement on online safety and digital platform governance. These efforts contributed to a more responsive and inclusive policy framework for the creative sector.
• Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag through a series of activities including an event on the Rideau Canal Skateway, a national red and white illumination initiative involving 70 partners, as well as special programming during Winterlude 2025.
• Continuing to encourage the engagement and social inclusion of people in Canada through local performing and visual arts, and the celebration of local heritage, as well as through the commemoration and preservation of local history and identity.
• Coordinating federal government activities related to international sporting events and supported national team preparations, with a particular focus on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.
• Promoting sport environments free from all forms of maltreatment, including harassment, abuse, and discrimination. The Department continued to support the delivery of the Abuse-Free Sport Program, through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, ensuring sport participants access to an independent reporting mechanism to address maltreatment, as well as prevention resources and support services.
• Launching Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 on June 8, 2024, and the first Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate on September 24, 2024, to advance initiatives to support Indigenous, Black and other racialized, ethno-religious minority, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. These initiatives, including the launch of the Changing Narratives Funds, help communities to have access to resources that support the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political life of Canada, while also raising awareness of issues related to racism and hate in Canada. This work included:
  • Collaborating with Statistics Canada on research projects through memoranda of understanding to advance both the Anti-Racism Strategy and the Action Plan; and
  • Providing funding to community-based initiatives, through the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program, that promote diversity, foster inclusion and combat systemic racism, discrimination and hate in all its forms.
• Advancing accountability for Canada’s international human rights commitments through federal, provincial, and territorial participation in UN treaty body reviews under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, supporting inclusive engagement with Indigenous partners and stakeholders, and promoting public access to human rights information.
• Implementing the Indigenous Languages Act and the action plan items related to languages in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan. Canadian Heritage continued working with Indigenous partners in implementing distinctions-based funding models that support Indigenous Peoples in their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen their Indigenous languages, and thus advancing access to services in Indigenous languages.
• Fostering connection among youth across Canada through the Youth Engagement Program and the Youth Secretariat. The Exchanges Canada and Youth Take Charge programs provided over 355,000 youth in Canada opportunities to learn about and understand Canada’s society, diversity, history and institutions through active engagement in projects aiming to increase youth attachment to the country.
• Collaborating with the provincial and territorial governments to support the protection and promotion of English and French as part of Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection–Promotion–Collaboration.

Highlights for Canadian Heritage in 2024–25

• Total actual spending (including internal services): $2,140,649,974
• Total full-time equivalent staff (including internal services): 1,964

For complete information on Canadian Heritage’s total spending and human resources, read the Spending and human resources section of this full departmental results report.

Summary of results

The following provides a summary of the results that the Department achieved in 2024–25 under its main areas of activity, called “core responsibilities.”

Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture

Actual spending: $694,269,526

Actual full-time equivalent staff: 414

Canadian Heritage supported the creation and access to diverse Canadian cultural content by advancing key initiatives. It strengthened support for underrepresented voices in the cultural sector through ongoing funding to the Indigenous Screen Office, new investments in Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund and the modernization of support tools to foster a more inclusive and sustainable cultural ecosystem. It also enhanced the visibility and accessibility of Canadian books and music by increasing funding to initiatives that promote discoverability, audience engagement, market access and official languages, and launched the Changing Narratives Fund to help diverse communities share their stories, experiences, and perspectives in Canada’s media and screen sectors so that their voices are represented faithfully and authentically in these industries.

A number of initiatives reinforced a more modern and responsible policy environment for cultural content in the digital age. For instance, the Department supported the implementation of new policy frameworks for the Online Streaming Act and Online News Act. Public consultations on generative artificial intelligence and legislative work to introduce an Artist’s Resale Right in Canada supported departmental efforts on copyright reform.

Furthermore, Canadian Heritage continued its efforts to ensure Canadians have access to professional arts experiences by supporting initiatives that foster inclusion and strengthen arts training, such as enhancing support to a new Indigenous led training program and launching a pilot project, in collaboration with the Indigenous Arts Knowledge Exchange, to explore culturally grounded training approaches.

To help Canadian creative businesses build capacity and access new markets, nearly 100 projects were supported through the Creative Export Strategy and the Creative Export Canada program. The Department also led a creative industries delegation as part of the Team Canada Trade Mission to South Korea and facilitated targeted programming at 25 international events.

Also, the Digital Citizen Contribution Program advanced efforts to equip Canadians to counter online disinformation and enhance digital safety, supporting projects focused on media and civic literacy, cyberbullying prevention, and combatting foreign disinformation.

For more information on Canadian Heritage’s Creativity, arts and culture, read the “Results – what we achieved” section of this departmental results report.

Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration

Actual spending: $121,420,370

Actual full-time equivalent staff: 326

Canadian Heritage continues to deliver activities and major events in the National Capital Region. Celebrations were promoted in the region throughout the year, such as the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag and the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

In 2024–25, the Department made significant progress with commemorative monuments. Two milestones were completed in the development of the Indian Residential Schools National Monument (First Nations, Métis and Inuit)—securing federal land use approval in collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada for the site selected by the Survivor-led Steering Committee, with the permission of the Algonquin Anishinabeg nation, and engaging the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and its Indigenous Task Force to co-administer the design selection process. Also, Canadian Heritage supported the LGBT Purge Fund in the successful planning and delivery of the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument groundbreaking ceremony. The Department also supported the start of construction of the Global Affairs Canada Commemorative Artwork.

The Government of Canada held a national commemorative ceremony in memory of the Honourable Murray Sinclair. Held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November 10, 2024, the ceremony was broadcast on several platforms, which gave Canadians an opportunity to honour his contributions to public life and offer their condolences.

The Department encourages community engagement through the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program, supporting 940 projects in 2024–25 for local performances and visual arts, the celebration of local heritage, and for the commemoration and preservation of local history and identity. The Department also encouraged people in Canada to learn about Canada’s history, civic life, and public policy through the Canada History Fund.

Canadian Heritage helps Canadians to connect with their vibrant shared heritage through various policy and program work in the heritage sector. In 2024–25, the Department continued to engage stakeholders to advance the renewal of the Canadian Museum Policy. The Young Canada Works-Heritage program funded 1,740 youth participants who were placed in various functions that allow heritage institutions to carry out important projects. A total of 414,169 visitors attended 5 exhibitions indemnified by the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnifications Program. The Museums Assistance Program provided funding to 169 heritage organizations to support the development of professional skills, practices and knowledge relating to key museum functions, to increase understanding and awareness of Indigenous cultural heritage in Canada, and to reach new audiences.

In 2024–25, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network launched their new initiative for emerging professionals, offering paid internships with the goal of supporting the development of professions in conservation, conservation science, collections management and documentation of museum collections, including welcoming two emerging professionals in conservation and conservation science. A review of service offerings also began to better meet the needs of the heritage sector, starting with the launch of a new approach for the delivery of training activities. Also, two new advanced workshops were offered, addressing emergency salvage for heritage collections and digitization for heritage institutions.

The Department, in collaboration with Italian officials, organized a one-day Canada-Italy symposium on crimes against cultural property in Ottawa in March 2025. It demonstrated Canada’s commitment to combatting crimes against cultural property, including illicit trafficking, and the importance of collaboration in this regard.

For more information on Canadian Heritage’s Heritage and celebration, read the “Results – what we achieved” section of this departmental results report.

Core responsibility 3: Sport

Actual spending: $322,663,690

Actual full-time equivalent staff: 136

The Department continued to advance the Canadian High Performance Sport Strategy to help produce improved performances at major sporting competitions. During 2024–25, there was progress towards renewing the Canadian Sport Policy. Canadian Heritage also led coordination efforts between federal, provincial, territorial governments on preparations for international sporting events and national team preparations, final preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, and FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2026. Meanwhile, the Department supported various priorities for different Canada Games’ files, continued investments in the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Program, and ensured sport participants maintained access to an independent reporting mechanism to address maltreatment, prevention resources, and support services.

Canadian Heritage continued to support high-performance athletes and the national sport organizations through our funding programs. The Hosting Program supported International Single Sport Events to provide competition opportunities for Canadian athletes, coaches, and officials. The Athletes Assistance Program continued to offer financial assistance to carded Canadian high performance athletes. The Sport Support program continued funding projects, including research projects, to promote Gender Equity and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in sport.

Meanwhile, Canadian Heritage continued its activities to help improve compliance and accountability of sport organizations receiving federal funding. The Department enforced conditions and requirements on sport organizations to ensure they had appropriate sport safety and integrity policies in place. As well, the Department continued to stand behind efforts to ensure fairness and integrity in all levels of sport, including via its support for the Canadian Anti-Doping Program.

For more information on Canadian Heritage’s Core responsibility 3: Sport, read the “Results – what we achieved” section of this departmental results report.

Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion

Actual spending: $274,486,510

Actual full-time equivalent staff: 234

Canadian Heritage launched Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 on June 8, 2024, to support Indigenous, Black, other racialized and ethno-religious minority communities, and the first Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate on September 24, 2024, to advance initiatives to support Indigenous, Black and other racialized, ethno-religious minority, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. These initiatives help communities to have access to resources that support the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political life of Canada, while also raising awareness of issues related to racism and hate in Canada. The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch collaborated with Justice Canada and Statistics Canada on research projects through memoranda of understanding that provided $1.3 million in funding to advance data and research in the fields of both Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate. In addition, during 2024-25, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program approved $35.2 million in funding to community-based initiatives. This included $14 million for 150 initiatives under the Organizational Capacity Building component, $12.3 million for 522 initiatives under the Events component, $5.5 million for 31 initiatives under the Anti-Hate Call and $3.4 million for 13 initiatives under the National Holocaust Remembrance Program.

Canadian Heritage contributes to the protection of human rights in Canada by leading key accountability mechanisms consistent with Canada’s international commitments. In 2024–25, the Department worked with provinces and territories to take part in United Nations reviews on implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and worked through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Human Rights to further advance federal, provincial and territorial discussions on human rights implementation.

To strengthen follow-up, Canadian Heritage engaged civil society organizations, Indigenous representatives, and human rights commissions on Canada’s review under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with a focus on practical steps that federal, provincial, and territorial governments can take to implement the Committee’s recommendations. As part of this work, Canadian Heritage partnered with civil society and Indigenous organizations to consult their networks, gather perspectives from across the country, and present the findings to the senior-level committee supporting the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Human Rights.

This engagement was complemented by two national information-sharing sessions convened through the officials-level committee supporting the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Human Rights. In these sessions, Canadian Heritage coordinated subject-matter experts from across governments to respond to questions from partners and stakeholders on recently concluded and upcoming United Nations human rights reviews. These reviews assess how well Canada is meeting its international human rights commitments and provide recommendations on how to improve implementation. The sessions focused on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Universal Periodic Review. Building on its Engagement Strategy on Canada’s International Human Rights Reporting Process, the Department also launched a new approach outlining how the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Human Rights will work with partners and stakeholders at each stage of the review cycle.

To further support the Canada’s reviews, Canadian Heritage shared clear information on how to participate in in-person sessions, how to submit parallel reports to the United Nations, and talked with various groups to better understand their views ahead of meetings with federal, provincial and territorial ministers. In response to requests for continued dialogue, the Human Rights Program also convened eight bilateral meetings with partners and stakeholders to discuss Canada’s international human rights processes.

Canadian Heritage also moved forward on commitments under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by further advancing efforts to formalize the participation of Indigenous Peoples’ representative institutions in human rights accountability processes. To make human rights more accessible, the Human Rights Program translated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms into five more Indigenous languages. In addition, through a fair and open process, Canadian Heritage renewed the independent experts who guide the Court Challenges Program, which helps Canadians defend their rights, including equality and official language rights, in court.

In 2024-25, the Department concluded a new multi-year agreement with the Cree Nation Government in Québec to support the implementation of a language strategy for their communities. Furthermore, the four First Nations regionally designated organizations (the First Peoples’ Cultural Council in British Columbia, the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres in Ontario, the Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey in Nova Scotia and the Regional Committee on Languages in Quebec) continued to implement their five-year language strategies. For the Inuit and Métis, the Department continued to implement the respective funding models with the four Inuit land-claim organizations and the five Métis governments.

The Department also engaged federal departments and agencies to assess the federal government’s capacity to provide services in Inuktut in Nunavut and to identify opportunities for enhancing these services. In addition, Canadian Heritage translated key documents in Indigenous languages (the Indigenous Languages Act and Canada’s National Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages).

Canadian Heritage aims to strengthen youth attachment to Canada by engaging them as well as helping them learn more about Canada, connect with each other, and better appreciate the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian experience through the Youth Engagement Program. Meanwhile, the Youth Secretariat supported Canada’s Youth Policy through continued support for the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, beginning work on the second State of Youth Report, and convening interdepartmental meetings to coordinate youth engagement efforts as well as conducted research to inform engagement strategies and policy discussions on youth across federal departments.

For more information on Canadian Heritage’s Diversity and inclusion, read the “Results – what we achieved” section of this departmental results report.

Core responsibility 5: Official languages

Actual spending: $625,485,814

Actual full-time equivalent staff: 171

Canadian Heritage coordinated the implementation of a major horizontal initiative, namely, Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection–Promotion–Collaboration. The Department also delivered the Official Languages Support Programs, advancing the two official languages in Canada, assisting the development of official language minority communities, and supporting the protection and promotion of the French language throughout Canada, including in Quebec. In addition, the Department continued to collaborate with community organizations, and provincial and territorial governments. Notably, Canadian Heritage signed bilateral official languages agreements on first- and second-language education and on services with the provincial and territorial governments.

For more information on Canadian Heritage’s Official languages, read the “Results – what we achieved” section of this departmental results report.

From the Minister

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages

As Minister, I am pleased to present the Departmental Results Report 2024–25 for the Department of Canadian Heritage. Over the past year, the Department has continued to adjust its policies, programs and operations to reflect today’s realities and strengthen what unites and defines us as a society. At the very foundation of our identity lie two of our greatest assets as a nation: our culture and our nature, which drive innovation, fuel economic growth and inspire national pride.

The Department has continued its legislative work and its mobilization efforts regarding online streaming, online news and online safety. In order to advance modernization of the Canadian audiovisual sector, the Department has provided the Indigenous Screen Office with permanent funding, invested in public media and presented ideas for the future of CBC/Radio-Canada. The Department also organized a Canada-Italy symposium on crimes against cultural property, including illicit trafficking, which demonstrated our country’s commitment to protecting the treasures of our cultural heritage. It also supported a wide array of artistic, cultural and heritage activities that gave Canadians the opportunity to come together and take part in the life of their communities.

In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage organized a series of commemorative activities to highlight the 60th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada and the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Numerous initiatives have strengthened Canadians’ feelings of pride and belonging, from sporting competitions to arts and culture projects and celebrations such as Canada Day and Winterlude.

Through a variety of measures, Canadian Heritage has implemented the government’s commitment to create sport environments free from maltreatment, harassment and discrimination. It provided financial support to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada so it can offer the Abuse-Free Sport program, as well as an independent reporting mechanism, support and prevention resources. The Department worked to ensure that Canadian athletes at the national level continued to be able to access to a safe sport system, and it supported training and preparation for those proudly representing Canada at international competitions.

Canadian Heritage led several initiatives in 2024–25 to promote diversity, inclusion and the rights of Canadians. It launched Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and the first ever Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate to support Indigenous, Black, racialized, ethno-religious minority and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. Its youth engagement programs provided more than 355,000 young people with opportunities to learn about Canada’s society, diversity, history and institutions through active engagement in projects aimed at increasing a sense of belonging to our country. The Department, along with Indigenous partners, continued implementing the Indigenous Languages Act including distinction-based funding models to increase Indigenous control over funding decisions and access to services in these languages. Canadian Heritage also supported intergovernmental cooperation on human rights across the country and coordinated Canada’s engagement on this subject on the international stage.

The Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration marks a commitment of $4.1 billion over five years to protect and promote French and English, particularly through collaboration with the provinces and territories. In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage signed 13 bilateral agreements on official languages with provincial and territorial governments, opening the way to an investment of $359.9 million in minority-language education and second-language teaching. It also reached five new intergovernmental cooperation agreements, representing a total investment of $71.2 million for minority-language services. These accomplishments will contribute to lifelong learning and the use of our official languages, as well as the promotion of French and English, which are integral parts of the Canadian identity.

A strong culture is forged by the history we share and the stories we tell; stories that are uniquely our own. As Canadians, we take pride not only in this cultural heritage, but also in the vast, raw and breathtaking wilderness that defines our land.

Over the past few months, the Department helped launch the Canada Strong Pass, providing free or discounted access to museums, historic sites, national parks and VIA Rail travel. This helped Canadians enjoy the places and experiences that bring us together.

Canada Strong is about building one strong Canadian economy. By helping families save hundreds of dollars, the Pass inspired us to explore our own backyard, while driving higher visitor turnout, supporting over 240,000 tourism businesses, sustaining nearly two million jobs, and adding billions to local communities.

In the Department itself, much progress has been made regarding inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. Canadian Heritage has published its second report on progress in accessibility, an initiative that shows the Department’s commitment to promoting openness, dignity and respect.

I am pleased to continue this work with my colleagues, the Honourable Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport), and the Honourable Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature). I invite you to read this report to learn more about what Canadian Heritage has accomplished in 2024–25.

Results – what we achieved

Core responsibilities and internal services

• Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture
• Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration
• Core responsibility 3: Sport
• Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion
• Core responsibility 5: Official languages
• Internal services

Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Progress on results
• Details on results
• Key risks
• Resources required to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Ensures that a wide range of Canadian artistic and cultural content is accessible at home and abroad. Provides opportunities for Canadians to participate and engage in Canada’s creative life, fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion. Fosters creativity, innovation, growth and employment opportunities in Canada’s cultural sector, and in the creative economy. Support policy, legislative and regulatory measures; deliver funding programs that support creation, professional training, cultural infrastructure and arts presentation; business development and marketing initiatives; and the establishment of partnerships in Canada and abroad.

Quality of life impacts

Canada’s Quality of Life Framework measures the well-being of people in Canada. It is organized into domains and subdomains, each of which include several indicators. Core responsibility 1: Creativity, Arts and Culture is aligned with the following key domains, subdomains and indicators.

Progress on results

This section details the Department’s performance against its targets for each departmental result under Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture.

Table 1: Creative industries are successful in the digital economy, foster creativity and contribute to economic growth.

Table 2: Canadians are able to consume Canadian content on multiple platforms.

Table 3: Creative industries are successful in global markets.

Table 4: Professional arts experiences are available to Canadians in their community

Table 5: Canadians are better equipped to counter the effects of online disinformation.

The Results section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provides additional information on results and performance related to its program inventory.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Creativity, arts and culture in 2024–25 compared with the planned results set out in Canadian Heritage’s Departmental Plan for the year.

Creative industries are successful in the digital economy, foster creativity and contribute to economic growth.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage advanced its support for a more competitive and inclusive cultural economy by strengthening key policy and funding tools. Efforts included monitoring of updates to the regulatory framework for broadcasting (implementation of the Online Streaming Act) and the provision of additional investments in institutions such as Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund to support underrepresented voices.
• Additionally, assisted by renewed and additional time-limited funding announced in Budget 2024, the Canada Music Fund supported thousands of Canadian artists and helped advance their careers by sustaining the creation and promotion of Canadian music and reinforcing the Canadian-owned music industry’s competitiveness. Through FACTOR and Musicaction, pilot programs enabled over 100 concert promoters and venues to present live performances by Canadian artists. As part of the 2023–2028 Action Plan for Official Languages, the Fund also provided targeted support to Francophone music entrepreneurs in official language minority communities.
• The Canada Book Fund supported the publication and distribution of Canadian-authored books domestically and internationally, including with time-limited Budget 2024 funding.
• In 2024–25, through the Canada Periodical Fund funded 1,381 print and digital magazines and community newspapers received support (i.e., 703 magazines and community newspapers through the program’s Aid to Publishers component and 673 magazines and community newspapers through the program’s Special Measures for Journalism component respectively), to ensure that Canadians have access to quality news and information from diverse sources.
• As part of targeted supported for journalism, the Local Journalism Initiative supported the hiring of more than 500 journalists to undertake civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.
• With the objective of providing diverse communities with the tools to tell their own stories and to promote diverse voices in culture and media, the Changing Narratives Fund was launched in 2024–25. It is being delivered through three existing programs: the Canada Media Fund, the Canada Periodical Fund, and the Local Journalism Initiative. In 2024–25, the first component via the Canada Media Fund provided funding to support projects in professional development and capacity building within the television, digital media, and screen industries.
• To support copyright modernization, the Department and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada held consultations on generative artificial intelligence, culminating in the publication of a “What We Heard” report in February 2025. In parallel, preparatory legislative work was done to establish an Artist’s Resale Right in Canada.
• In collaboration with Mila, Canada’s leading artificial intelligence institute, the Department also undertook foundational work towards building a better understanding of the impacts of artificial intelligence on the cultural sector. These efforts aim to ensure that the rights of artists and creators are protected while enabling innovation in Canada’s digital economy.

Canadians are able to consume Canadian content on multiple platforms.

Results achieved

• Throughout 2024–25, Canadian Heritage worked to ensure that Canadian content, including content developed by equity-deserving and Indigenous creators remained discoverable and accessible to audiences across print, broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms.
• The Indigenous Screen Office received permanent support to enable Indigenous Peoples to tell their own stories across languages and platforms and the Canada Media Fund adopted a new program model that made its funding platform-agnostic and more responsive to the needs of diverse creators.
• Public service media were also bolstered, with renewed support to CBC/Radio-Canada and other broadcasters such as the Cable Public Affairs Channel, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and TV5 Québec Canada. In May 2024, the former Minister of Canadian Heritage published The Future of CBC/Radio-Canada, informed by the work of an appointed Advisory Committee.

Creative industries are successful in global markets.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage deepened its efforts to help Canadian creative industries maximize their export potential and stand out in global markets through the Creative Export Strategy. It supported 98 projects designed to assist creative business and organizations in achieving their international business objectives, including helping them to build capacity and expand into new markets.
• The Department also collaborated with Global Affairs Canada on the Team Canada Trade Mission to South Korea in April 2024, where it led the creative industries delegation comprised of 22 Canadian creative industries companies and organizations. Furthermore, industry programming was delivered at 25 international events, creating trade opportunities for Canadian creative industries through business-to-business meetings and pitch sessions to international buyers.
• Canada’s cultural policy priorities were preserved through trade negotiations, including the protection of cultural exemptions in new agreements with Indonesia and Ecuador. Trade negotiations are also ongoing with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with multiple rounds concluded. With Ecuador, the Department also negotiated cultural cooperation provisions to support the objectives of the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This is a direct contribution to the Convention, which stipulates that developed countries should grant preferential treatment to developing countries as per article 16 of the Convention.
• To strengthen Canada’s presence in the international Francophonie, Canadian Heritage expanded the catalogue of Canadian Francophone programming on the TV5MONDEplus platform and enhanced the discoverability of Canadian content abroad.

Professional arts experiences are available to Canadians in their community

Results achieved

• Canadian Heritage continued to promote access to professional arts experiences in 2024–25 by supporting institutions, artists, and presenters across the country. The Canada Arts Training Fund added a new Indigenous-led training program and partnered with the Indigenous Arts Knowledge Exchange to launch a pilot project rooted in land-based learning. This initiative helped explore Indigenous-led methodologies for training in the arts and strengthened culturally relevant approaches to education.
• Other programs such as the Canada Cultural Investment Fund, Harbourfront Centre, and the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, supported key arts organizations in 2024–25 by enhancing infrastructure, improving accessibility, and sustaining operations—ensuring professional arts experiences remained available to Canadians in their communities, including those in Indigenous, equity-deserving, and rural areas.

Canadians are better equipped to counter the effects of online disinformation.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage played a central role in equipping Canadians to navigate the evolving online information environment. Through the Digital Citizen Contribution Program, the Department supported 31 projects focused on media and civic literacy, the identification of artificial intelligence and bot-generated content, and combatting online violence against women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. It also aimed at the development of community resources to counter cyberviolence and foreign influence campaigns.
• In 2024–25, the Diversity of Content Online initiative was reshaped to enhance the Department’s international engagement on information integrity, online harms, and platform governance. Activities included a joint workshop with the European Commission to exchange best practices on online safety and inform potential future regulatory and legislative approaches.
• Legislative efforts also advanced with Bill C-63, the proposed bill to address Online Harms, which aimed to strengthen online safety in Canada.

Key risks

In 2024–25, reduced program spending posed risks to the arts and culture sector. To mitigate impacts, programs adjusted parameters, narrowed scopes, and prioritized high-impact funding streams. Strategies included lowering contribution limits, focusing on early-stage support, and maintaining flexibility for underserved communities. Ongoing dialogue with stakeholders also helped align available resources with sector needs and lessen the impact on recipients. In addition, new investments from Budget 2024 reinforced the resilience of the cultural sector and further minimized impacts on recipients. The government will continue to engage in forward-looking planning, evolving its policy framework and programming to align with a changing environment and reassessing sector supports to ensure impacts are minimized on recipients.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 6: Snapshot of resources required for Creativity, arts and culture

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Related government priorities

This section highlights government priorities that are being addressed through this core responsibility.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

In 2024–25, several programs under core responsibility 1 sought to provide equitable access to Canadian Heritage’s arts and culture programming funding for equity-deserving groups. For example:

Through FACTOR and Musicaction, the Canada Music Fund supported initiatives addressing systemic barriers, including programming for Francophone, Indigenous, and racialized music entrepreneurs, as well as gender equity initiatives through international partnerships like Keychange. The Fund also introduced new flexibilities such as broader incentives for women artists and a new stream tailored to smaller companies led or owned by individuals from equity-deserving communities, including Indigenous Peoples, racialized groups, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, and persons with disabilities. As well, the Fund piloted a program supporting Canadian-owned concert venues and promoters, with incentives for showcasing equity-deserving artists, who represented 56% of scheduled performances.

The Canada Book Fund updated its guidelines to increase support for official- and Indigenous-language works, to lower entry thresholds for diverse publishers, and to allow greater flexibility for priority communities. It also expanded accessibility supports in its internship initiative to include all interns living with disabilities.

The Canada Periodical Fund provided ongoing support to magazine and community newspaper titles serving Indigenous, ethnocultural, 2SLGBTQI+, and official language minority communities, enhancing access to diverse editorial content.

The Creative Export Canada allocated 33% of its budget—accounting for 38% of funded projects—to businesses led by Indigenous or equity-deserving groups.

The Canada Media Fund introduced gender-balance factor weights for future broadcaster allocations and enhanced flexibility for Indigenous applicants—especially in the Circumpolar North—by easing genre, market trigger, and personnel requirements. It also made permanent its Pilot Program for Racialized Communities, launched a Diverse Languages Program Envelope, invested in capacity building and market access for Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, and formalized its partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office, which will take over administration of the Indigenous Program in 2025–26.

The arts programs analyzed Census data, reviewed key statistical sources such as the 2021 Arts and Heritage Access and Availability Survey, and collaborated with the Canada Council for the Arts and other funders to improve demographic data collection practices in the arts and culture sector.

The Canada Arts Training Fund introduced self-identification questions to better understand the composition of recipient boards, staff, and students, helping to ensure that Indigenous organizations and organizations working towards equity are both community-serving and community-led.

The Digital Citizen Contribution Program focused on developing tools for digital media literacy, identifying bot-generated content, and combatting online violence against women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. It also aimed to create resources to prevent cyberbullying, build technical capacity in small and medium civil society organizations, and develop tools to counter disinformation from foreign governments targeting diaspora communities.

The Department continued to monitor the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s implementation of a renewed broadcasting regulatory framework.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2024–25, initiatives related to core responsibility 1 helped advance Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), Reduce inequality (SDG 10), Sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16) and Partnerships for the goals (SDG 17):

• The Canada Arts Training Fund contributed to the development of Canadian creators and future cultural leaders of the Canadian arts sector by supporting the training of emerging artists with high potential through organizations that offer training of the highest calibre. The latest program result indicates that 88% of graduates of Canada Arts Training Fund-supported training programs are employed as professional artists in Canada and abroad (SDG 8).
• Through the Creative Export Strategy, Canadian Heritage supported export-ready and export-development projects by funding 98 projects and providing trade programming at 25 international events. Activities such as business missions, market briefings, and business-to-business meetings helped Canadian cultural companies build international partnerships and pursue business opportunities abroad (SDG 8).
• Canadian Heritage continued monitoring the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s ongoing implementation of a renewed broadcasting regulatory framework (SDG 8).
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission examined key policy issues and conducted a series of public consultations and hearings all aimed at realizing positive impacts on the working realities of creators and supporting economic growth in the creative marketplace (SDG 8).
• The Indigenous Screen Office made significant strides in supporting Indigenous-led audiovisual projects, sector development, and increasing Indigenous representation within the screen industry (SDG 8 and SDG 10).
• The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund prioritized renovation projects, equipment purchases, and feasibility studies for arts and heritage facilities. It allowed arts and heritage organizations to increase accessibility for audiences, increase energy efficiency and improve and expand cultural spaces for all Canadians. Funded projects also included new cultural spaces for Indigenous and equity organizations, and those from rural and remote areas (SDG 11).
• The Canada Periodical Fund supported 1,381 print and digital publications through the Aid to Publishers and Special Measures for Journalism components. This support helped publications overcome market disadvantages and ensured Canadians had access to diverse editorial content. Funding from the program also helped local communities outside of metropolitan areas to remain informed and maintain access to quality Canadian journalism in various forms (SDG 10 and SDG 16).
• The Digital Citizen Contribution Program funded projects to strengthen citizens’ critical thinking and resilience towards online disinformation, as well as research projects which aim to better understand disinformation and other online harms and their impacts in a Canadian context (SDG 16).
• Through the TV5 program, the Department promoted the discovery and distribution of Canadian programming in French at home and abroad. The program contributed to the development and revitalization of the diversity of cultural domains within the global Francophonie. This commitment to multiple international players is reflected in TV5’s core values and TV5MONDE’s new strategic plan (SDG 8 and SDG 17).

More information on Canadian Heritage’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Core responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture is supported by the following programs:

• Arts
• Cultural Marketplace Framework
• Cultural Industries Support and Development

Additional information related to the program inventory for Creativity, arts and culture is available on the Results page on GC Infobase.

Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Progress on results
• Details on results
• Key risks
• Resources required to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Offers opportunities for Canadians to participate in celebrations and commemorations of national significance, and in local festivals and heritage events. Invests in the development of learning materials and experiences that give Canadians opportunities to enhance their understanding of Canada’s history. Facilitates access to heritage and provides support to heritage institutions to preserve and present heritage to all Canadians. Delivers projects, programs and services; grants, contributions and tax incentives; conducts research; provides authoritative information and expertise; and supports the implementation of heritage-related legislation.

Quality of life impacts

The Quality of Life Framework for Canada measures the well-being of people in Canada. It is organized into domains and subdomains, each of which include several indicators. The Heritage and Celebration core responsibility is aligned with the key domains, subdomains and indicators below.

Progress on results

This section details the Department performance against its targets for each departmental result under Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration.

Table 7: Canadians are increasingly engaged in celebrations and commemorations of national significance.

Table 8: Canadians across the country are provided regular opportunities to engage in their communities through local arts and heritage activities.

Table 9: The public is provided with access to cultural heritage.

Table 10: Heritage objects and collections are preserved by heritage organizations for current and future generations.

The Results section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provides additional information on results and performance related to its program inventory.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Heritage and celebration in 2024–25 compared with the planned results set out in Canadian Heritage’s Departmental Plan for the year.

Canadians are increasingly engaged in celebrations and commemorations of national significance

Results achieved

• Activities and major events delivered by Canadian Heritage in the National Capital Region continue to adapt to the realities of the downtown core’s building zones and work on Parliament Hill. Thus, to support tourism, the Department maintained updates to the self-guided tour booklet Discover the Heart of the Capital to reflect changes in location or accessibility of monuments and to include new monument information.
• Also, to bolster celebrations and commemorations, the Department established a multi-year partnership with Ottawa Tourism to operate the Ottawa Visitor Centre and provide tourism information to the public. Additionally, a multi-year partnership with the Canadian Legion was established for the display of poppy banners around the National War Memorial in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day.
• Canadian Heritage launched celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag on the Rideau Canal Skateway on February 14, 2025, under the theme “Celebrate our love for the Canadian Flag.” Moreover, 70 partners across Canada participated in a national illumination initiative, lighting up landmarks, bridges, towers, and national parks in red and white. Winterlude 2025 marked this anniversary with special programming including a flag-themed trivia quiz and a photo exhibit on Sparks Street.
• Canada Day 2024 celebrated the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which recognized the dedication of past and present Air Force personnel and aimed to inspire a future generation of aviators. In partnership with the Department of National Defence, special activities and presentations on Canada Day were organized, and funding was provided for the creation of documentaries and podcasts.
• The Department also supported significant commemorations by funding activities and educational materials for important milestones such as the 25th anniversary of the creation of Nunavut, the 75th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador joining Confederation, the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Copyright Act, and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery.
• Canadian Heritage completed two significant milestones in 2024–25 to advance the development of the Indian Residential Schools National Monument (First Nations, Métis and Inuit). First, the Department collaborated with Public Services and Procurement Canada to secure federal land use approval for the site selected by the Survivor-led Steering Committee with the permission of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation, in 2023. The site was approved by the National Capital Commission Board of Directors on January 23, 2025. Second, the Department engaged the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and its Indigenous Task Force to co-administer the design selection process for the Monument. Work included defining the vision statement and objectives for the Monument and developing an approach for the design selection process, which will continue into the next year.
• In May 2024, Canadian Heritage functionally supported the LGBT Purge Fund in the successful planning and delivery of the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument groundbreaking ceremony, which was attended by LGBT Purge survivors, representatives of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities, the local Algonquin communities, elected officials and other stakeholders. Site preparation and design work also took place in 2024.
• In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage supported the start of construction and continued advancement of the Global Affairs Canada Commemorative Artwork. Fabrication of the artwork’s primary elements–its massive concrete forms–began in spring 2024. The Department coordinated with the National Capital Commission and Public Services and Procurement Canada to revise the project schedule due to unforeseen technical complexities.
• The Government of Canada held a national commemorative ceremony in memory of the Honourable Murray Sinclair, who passed away on November 4, 2024. Dignitaries, including the Governor General of Canada and the Prime Minister of Canada, family guests as well as members of the public paid their respects to the Sinclair family during the commemorative ceremony. Broadcast on several platforms, the ceremony was held on November 10, 2024, at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ceremony gave Canadians an opportunity to honour the Honourable Murray Sinclair’s contributions to public life and offer their condolences.

Canadians across the country are provided regular opportunities to engage in their communities through local arts and heritage.

Results achieved

• The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program offered opportunities for Canadians to participate in local arts and heritage events by providing funding to 940 projects, which included 862 local festivals and 78 community anniversary and commemorative capital projects.
• The Local Festivals component of the program supported 38 2SLGBTQI+ events in 26 communities across Canada. Close to $1.1 million in funding helped engage over 2,300 artists, artisans, and heritage performers, supported the contributions of more than 3,900 volunteers, and reached an audience of over 1.1 million people.
• The Community Anniversaries component provided funding for a community event in Lac-Kénogami, Quebec, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the closure of the village of Saint-Cyriac following the expropriation of its inhabitants to build dams and exploit the adjacent lake’s hydraulic energy. Many residents and descendants of the original inhabitants participated in the event and organizers reported the participation of 56 local artists, artisans and heritage performers, 58 volunteers and 1,185 attendees.
• The Legacy Fund component supported the 150th Anniversary of Charles Macdonald—Concrete House Restoration project in Centreville, Nova Scotia, which commemorated the anniversary of the birth of Charles Macdonald, owner and operator of a cement and brick factory that was central to the community’s economy. Project activities included repairs and renovations to the interior and exterior of the heritage building, refurbishment of artwork and exterior statues as well as six sets of didactic signs in English, French and Mi’kmaw. Participation in the project included 57 artists, artisans and heritage specialists, and 42 volunteers contributing 2,500 volunteer hours.

The public is provided with access to cultural heritage.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, the Department continued to engage stakeholders to advance the renewal of the Canadian Museum Policy. The input provided will inform an updated Museum Policy and its future impact on how we protect our heritage and how Canadians will be able to access it.
• In 2024–25, Young Canada Works-Heritage funded 1,740 youth participants placed in summer employment, short-term employment and internship opportunities in the heritage, arts, and cultural sectors. Youths hired in these positions allow institutions to carry out important projects in a variety of functions, such as collections management and visitor experience.
• The Canadian Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program helps cover the financial risk for loss and damage for eligible travelling exhibitions in Canadian museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions. This support may significantly reduce the cost to institutions for the purchase of commercial insurance. In 2024–25, institutions saved a total of $979,443 and saw a total of 414,169 visitors attending exhibitions indemnified by the program.

Heritage objects and collections are preserved by heritage organizations for current and future generations.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, the Museums Assistance Program provided funding through its components to 169 heritage organizations, to support the development of professional skills, practices and knowledge relating to key museum functions, to increase understanding and awareness of Indigenous cultural heritage in Canada, and to reach new audiences.
• The Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network launched their new initiative for emerging professionals, offering practical experience as well as learning and networking opportunities through paid internships with the goal of supporting the development of professions in conservation, conservation science, collections management and documentation of museum collections. In 2024–25, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network welcomed two emerging professionals in conservation and conservation science.
• Following a series of engagements with provincial and territorial museum associations in 2023–24, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network began a review of their service offerings in 2024–25 to better meet the needs of the heritage sector, starting with the launch of a new approach for the delivery of training activities. This included a change in how webinars were offered as well as the introduction of webcasts.
• The Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network also offered two new advanced workshops addressing specific needs of the heritage sector. The “Managing Emergency Salvage of Heritage Collections” workshop allowed participants to practise emergency response decision-making and hands-on salvage techniques for safeguarding heritage collections in different situations, such as floods. The “Digitization Training Program” provided participants with guidance for the development of their own digitization policy and plan.

The Department also conducted the following initiatives to support the core responsibility Heritage and celebration:

• In March 2025, Canadian Heritage, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Canada and the Italian Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Carabinieri TPC), organized a one-day Canada-Italy symposium on crimes against cultural property in Ottawa. This event provided an opportunity for the Carabinieri TPC to showcase their expertise, including in the use of artificial intelligence to identify crimes against cultural property, to a Canadian audience of over 150 in-person and online attendees comprising law enforcement officials, public servants and museum personnel. Canadian and international panellists and speakers also discussed topics ranging from theft to fraud to illicit trafficking, including specific Canadian and international case studies. The symposium demonstrated Canada’s commitment to international and national efforts in fighting crimes against cultural property, and enhanced collaboration in this regard. Afterwards, the Department took the opportunity to return three religious reliquaries of Saint Nicholas and accompanying letters to the Italian Republic in accordance with the Cultural Property Export and Import Act and Canada’s obligations under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
• The Department, through the Canada History Fund, encouraged people in Canada to learn about Canada’s history, civic life, and public policy. In 2024–25, the program supported development of The National Holocaust Monument IWalk, a digital companion app that allows people in Canada to explore the history and testimonies of Holocaust survivors who settled in Canada. Additional signage at the National Holocaust memorial was created to allow in-person visitors to easily access the app.
• The Canada History Fund also supported Hungry Eyes Media Inc to develop learning materials for educators and students centred around the documentary series, BLK: An Origin Story.
• As well, the Canada History Fund supported the Dictionary of Canadian Biography in the creation of “Name Unrecorded” entries that reinscribed early Black experiences into the historical record. The stories of enslaved people in the Canadian colonial context are very challenging to access by traditional historical approaches. Thus, an assistant professor of African Canadian History at York University, and a professor at Dalhousie University and the Centennial Carnegie Chair in the History of Slavery in Canada were brought in to create an entry on an unnamed enslaved woman in Upper Canada and an entry for an enslaved young man in the Maritimes, respectively.

Key risks

Human resource limitations and financial constraints posed by global economic uncertainty, rising inflation, cost increases and departmental spending reductions puts at risk Canadian Heritage’s ability to advance, fund and implement Heritage and Celebration activities and initiatives.

While events in the National Capital Region such as Canada Day and Winterlude continue to be of a high standard and attract Canadians, the Department had to make choices and prioritize certain elements of the main programming at the expense of others. For instance, the number of sites and the number of activities outside the main sites were reduced, as they were in 2023–24. However, the biggest impact this year was the significant reduction in operational hours for Winterlude, which were decreased by over 30 hours when compared to last year, to deliver within the reduced budget. Canadian Heritage has also made efforts to reduce expenses wherever possible and increase partnerships with federal and non-governmental organizations to share costs and improve programming.

Careful planning and management of resources have enabled us to continue advancing the initiatives identified in the Departmental Plan.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 11: Snapshot of resources required for Heritage and celebration

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Related government priorities

This section highlights government priorities that are being addressed through this core responsibility.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

In 2024–25, several programs under core responsibility 2 sought to provide greater access for equity-deserving groups to celebrations and commemorations of national significance, local festivals, and heritage events in Canada. For example:

To ensure greater access to all peoples and communities in Canada, the Celebration and Commemoration Program largely distributes small grants to community organizations for activities and events that are free, open to the public and include measures, such as broadcast initiatives, to increase participation for those living in remote areas. Examples of funded activities and events include the National Indigenous Peoples Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Canada Day and National Acadian Day.

National events such as Canada Day and Winterlude, State events, as well as commemoration and interpretation activities funded or delivered by the Department highlight anniversaries of national significance and ensure participants have opportunities to learn and appreciate Canada’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.

In alignment with recommendations stemming from the 2022–23 departmental Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review, the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program adapted the application form for its Community Anniversary component. Revised questions required applicants to speak to the ways their proposed project would advance reconciliation, diversity and inclusion.

The Canada History Fund revised its application questionnaire to reflect a more diverse and inclusive community of applicants. The changes include providing space for organizations to demonstrate how, through examples of work and staff experience, they contribute to telling a more diverse and inclusive history of Canada. Organizations submitted applications in May 2024 for a special call for projects that advanced inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and reconciliation. Organizations approved for funding include Hungry Eyes Media, the Moccasin Identifier project, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Heritage component of Young Canada Works has set increased demographic targets for program participation in 2023–24 and 2024–25. Targets are increasing for participation of Indigenous youth to 7%, ethnocultural/racialized youth to 15%, young people with disabilities to 8% and official languages minority community member youth to 6%. Furthermore, the program added new targets for rural and remote youth (10%) and for young women (65%).

Results for 2024–25 collected through the Participant Evaluation Questionnaire show that Young Canada Works-Heritage exceeded its demographic objectives in terms of hiring youth with disabilities, youth living in Rural, Remote, Northern or Fly-in communities, and young women. Of a total of 1,124 youth that completed the questionnaire, 6% were Indigenous, 15% were members of an ethnocultural or racialized community, 18% identified as having a disability, 6% belonged to an official languages minority community, 71% of youth served identifying as women, and 16% of youth served living in a rural or remote area. In addition, 70% of the youth respondents stated that they received effective support from their employer, which allowed them to overcome at least one barrier to employment (e.g., flexible working hours), and to fully participate in the program.

In 2024–25, the Young Canada Works-Heritage program has prioritized activities that support government priorities, including projects from Indigenous employers, projects aimed at Indigenous participants, projects focused on Indigenous cultural heritage and projects aimed at participants facing barriers to employment and equity-deserving participants. These activities are prioritized during the assessment of funding applications by the program’s delivery organizations.

The Museums Assistance Program supported the preservation, presentation, and management of Indigenous cultural heritage in Canada and the promotion of public awareness and understanding of the diverse Indigenous cultures. For example, recipients reported having preserved, managed, or digitized 20,703 Indigenous cultural objects.

The Program also includes text in its guidelines to allow for greater flexibility for applicants from identified equity-deserving groups when applying. The Program has also continued its inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility work in 2024–25, completing actions that were identified during the 2022–23 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review to remove barriers within the program and to better serve the identified priority communities. As a result, 39 applicants who self-identified as being part of these priority groups received funding under the Program’s three components in 2024–25, which accounts for 46% of applicants funded. Of these, 22% specifically self-identified as Indigenous.

The Designation of Institutions and Public Authorities Program now formally recognizes traditional Indigenous knowledge as a recognized form of expertise for designation purposes. Designated institutions preserve cultural property over the long term and make it accessible to the public through exhibitions, publications, research, or online. In 2024–25, two Category B designations (granted to eligible organizations that demonstrate the capacity to preserve a specific object or collection and make it accessible to the public for the long term) were granted for cultural property displayed outdoors.

The Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network launched its new initiative for emerging professionals, offering paid internships to new heritage professionals in keeping with the Department’s hiring practices that encourage the inclusion of diverse demographic groups. This program provides opportunities to interns to develop their skills to advance in their careers in the fields of conservation, conservation science, collections management and documentation of museum collections.

In 2024-25, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network began a review of their service offerings to better meet the needs of the heritage sector. As a starting point, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network launched a new approach for the delivery of their training activities. Webinars were delivered directly to heritage learners instead of through a host institution in a specific region. Furthermore, one-hour long webcasts were offered for the first time to a larger number of participants than is possible through a webinar format. The new approach to webinars and the new webcasts have enabled more heritage learners from various regions across the country to attend learning activities. The Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network are exploring ways to offer more in-person learning activities to Indigenous communities.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2024–25, initiatives related to core responsibility 2, helped advance Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) and Reduced inequalities (SDG 10):

• Young Canada Works-Heritage funded 1,740 youth participants for summer employment, short-term employment and internship opportunities, helping them gain the skills and experience needed to successfully transition into the labour market. Young Canada Works-Heritage also supports the arts, museums, and heritage sectors by preparing the next generation of skilled and qualified heritage workers. (SDG 8)
• Events such as Canada Day and Winterlude are planned with a focus on showcasing the diversity of Canadian culture. For example, a national contest asking the public to vote for their favourite musical genre was created for Canada Day 2024 to engage the entire Canadian population in the national celebrations taking place in Canada’s Capital Region and to create positive connections. (SDG 10)
• Winterlude 2025 has strengthened social ties by offering free, inclusive, intercultural activities with a focus on diversity and the promotion of Canadian culture. Thanks to its robust partnership program, the Department’s values are strongly represented in the activities offered. (SDG 10)
• As part of the review of their service offering, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network launched a new approach for the delivery of their training activities in an effort to reduce inequalities and barriers for participants. The new approach has enabled more heritage learners from various regions across the country to attend learning activities. Furthermore, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network are exploring ways to offer more in-person learning activities to Indigenous communities. (SDG 10)

More information on Canadian Heritage’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Core responsibility 2: Heritage and celebration is supported by the following programs:

• National Celebrations, Commemorations and Symbols
• Community Engagement and Heritage
• Preservation of and Access to Heritage
• Learning about Canadian History

Additional information related to the program inventory for Heritage and celebration is available on the Results page on GC Infobase.

Core responsibility 3: Sport

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Progress on Results
• Details on results
• Key risks
• Resources required to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Promotes and enhances Canadian participation in sport from initial introduction to sport to the highest levels through transfer payments and policy leadership. Ensures that all Canadians have access to quality aligned sport programs in a safe and welcome environment regardless of race, gender or physical disability. Fosters the development of high-performance athletes, coaches, officials, leaders and organizations within the Canadian Sport System. Assists Canadian communities in hosting the Canada Games and international sport events.

Quality of life impacts

Canada’s Quality of Life Framework measures the well-being of people in Canada. It is organized into domains and subdomains, each of which include several indicators. The Sport core responsibility is aligned with the key domains, subdomains and indicators below.

Progress on results

This section details the Department’s performance against its targets for each departmental result under Core responsibility 3: Sport.

Table 12: Canadian athletes succeed at the highest levels of competition.

Table 13: Canadian children and youth are enrolled in a sport activity.

Table 14: Canadians, regardless of gender, physical ability and cultural background, who participate in sport activities are satisfied with the manner in which the activity is provided.

The Results section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provides additional information on results and performance related to its program inventory.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Sport in 2024–25 compared with the planned results set out in Canadian Heritage’s Departmental Plan for the year.

Canadian athletes succeed at the highest levels of competition

Results achieved

• Sport Canada and other Canadian sport system stakeholders continued their work to advance the Canadian High Performance Sport Strategy and implement its subsequent Action Plan to help produce improved and sustainable performances at Olympic and Paralympic Games, other major multi-sport games, and at senior world championships. The focus of the strategy and action plan continues to be the support of Daily Training Environments providing athletes, coaches, technical leaders and sport science, sport medicine and innovation practitioners timely access to appropriate high performance training facilities. This organized and streamlined approach is delivered through the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, which is comprised of seven training centres, located strategically across the country, and designed to deliver consistent services to Canadian high-performance athletes. In 2024–25, Sport Canada invested $12.9 million in the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, to work in collaboration with the National Sport Organizations, to support Daily Training Environments with a focus on training and competition environments to help Canadian high-performance athletes in their final preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to continue that support to qualify and prepare for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• In 2024–25, the Department coordinated federal government activities related to international sporting events and supported national team preparations, with a particular focus on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games. In collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, work advanced with incident management planning, including participation in interdepartmental tabletop exercises, development of emergency response protocols, and coordination of consular support in case of critical incidents affecting Team Canada abroad. Sport Canada also played a central role in the federal coordination of risk assessments and contingency planning related to security threats, health emergencies, and civil unrest. In parallel, Sport Canada worked closely with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee, providing financial support and planning coordination to assist with final Games preparations.
• During 2024–25, adding to the preparations from the previous year to host the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026, Canadian Heritage coordinated the federal government’s activities in the following:
  • Work on the development of a Memorandum of Understanding across all implicated governments, including the municipal governments of Toronto and Vancouver and provincial governments of Ontario and British Columbia. This aligned common interests and priorities across parties and supported multiple committees and working groups at the executive and operational levels.
  • Provision of essential services within federal jurisdiction across approximately 20 federal organizations, and supporting the mandate to support the successful, safe and secure delivery of the event in Canada. These services include national safety and security, border integrity, public health, and immigration.
  • Signing of a contribution agreement with the City of Toronto for $104.34 million and with the province of British Columbia for $115.66 million to support operations and capital costs of the two Canadian Host Cities required for the event.
  • Exploration of opportunities across the federal government to leverage the event domestically and internationally, with the objective to maximize Canada’s investment in the event and realize benefits for sport, communities, and Canadians.
  • Establishing an Assistant Deputy Minister-level and Deputy Minister-level committee for the project to discuss federal planning and priorities around the event.
• Also, the Department supported federal, provincial and territorial governments priorities in working with host societies, other levels of government and the Canada Games Council in preparation for upcoming editions of the Canada Games:
  • Monitoring the contribution agreement with the 2025 Host Society continued in the lead-up to the St. John’s 2025 Canada Summer Games, which includes up to $16.25 million between 2022–23 and 2025–26. The federal contribution also includes approximately $11 million to the Canada Games Council to oversee the planning and delivery of travel for all provincial and territorial participants, except those from the host Province.
  • Working closely with the host society for the Québec 2027 Canada Winter Games, including the monitoring of the contribution agreement signed on June 3, 2024, for up to $11.12 million from 2024–25 to 2026–27.
  • Participating as observers in the bid evaluation process with the Canada Games Council and the Province of New Brunswick to select the host city or region for the 2029 Canada Summer Games in the province. Moncton and the Saint John Region were subsequently announced as co-hosts for the Games on April 2, 2025.
  • Engaging with the host society for the Prince Edward Island 2023 Canada Winter Games to approve the approach to the launch of the 2023 Canada Games legacy fund on May 13, 2024. The Host Society has partnered with the Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island to distribute the financial legacy to provincial sport organizations, partner municipalities, and provincial not-for-profit organizations.
• Moreover, the Department’s funding programs continued to support high-performance athletes and Canadian organizations hosting sport events. The International Single Sport Events component of the Hosting Program supported 57 events in 2024–25 with an anticipated 1,140 Canadian athletes competing in these events.
• Through Budget 2024, the Athlete Assistance Program’s budget was increased from $33 million to $40 million in 2024–25. With this increased funding, the Athletes Assistance Program provided about $37 million in living and training allowance, including supplementary support, to 1,858 athletes in 2024–25. Also, tuition funding, or in some cases deferred tuition, was provided to 772 eligible athletes for almost $2.5 million to help them obtain post-secondary level education.
• Additionally, 41 athletes in 16 sport disciplines who were not carded were supported with 4-month Olympic or Paralympic cards while 22 athletes in 15 sport disciplines had their Development cards upgraded to Senior cards leading into and including the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games period.
• Through the Sport Support Program, the Department provided $2 million to the Paralympic Foundation of Canada in October 2023, funds that were matched by private funds creating more leverage from the government’s initial investment. As a result of this investment, the Canadian Paralympic Committee distributed $535,000 from the Paralympic Performance Recognition program to Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Paralympic medal athletes in January 2025.

Canadian children and youth are enrolled in a sport activity

Results achieved

• Canadian Heritage continued to make progress on the renewal of the Canadian Sport Policy. To respond to the consultation feedback outlined in the What We Heard Report, a new draft was submitted to the Minister in August 2024. Three provinces (Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec), Sport Canada and the Sport Information Resource Centre worked on the final draft that is presently in final review by all jurisdictions.
• The Department continued to support projects through the three streams of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Program. $5.3 million was made available through Stream One to the Aboriginal Sport Circle and the 13 provincial and territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies for the delivery of community-based projects and to increase organizational capacity to develop and support project delivery. Under Stream Two, $3.6 million was made available to Indigenous governments, communities, and other not-for-profit Indigenous organizations. 208 applications were received, and 55 recipients were recommended for funding. Another $3.75 million was made available through Stream Three to these same organizations and communities for projects serving Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ peoples. A total of 133 applications were received, and 50 projects were recommended for funding.
• The Indigenous Sport Unit, through a contract with an experienced research firm and Indigenous researchers, engaged and consulted with Indigenous stakeholders, including Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ representative organizations, on how to improve the design and delivery of the three funding streams, to ensure that the program serves their self-identified social development outcomes and goals. The recommendations from the consultation were implemented in the program design and delivery for the 2024–2026 intake.

Canadians, regardless of gender, physical ability and cultural background, who participate in sport activities are satisfied with the manner in which the activity is provided

Results achieved

• The Government of Canada is committed to promoting sport environments free from all forms of maltreatment, including harassment, abuse, and discrimination. Thus, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada was provided $4 million in contributions to support the delivery of the Abuse-Free Sport Program, including the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, which administered the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport. The Abuse-Free Sport Program continued to provide the following services: a helpline, research grant program, educational library, educational accreditation program, legal aid program, mental health services, and policy support. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner also continued to manage reports of maltreatment, sport environment assessments, and a public registry.
• In addition, Canadian Heritage supported the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada in the transition of the administration of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, which included planning the wind-down activities at the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, facilitating dialogue between the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, and identifying and addressing transition-related challenges and opportunities. As a result, sport participants maintained access to an independent reporting mechanism to address maltreatment, prevention resources, and support services even with the transition of organizations.
• The Gender Equity and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion component approved over $14 million in program funding over two years (2023–24 and 2024–25) with $7 million in 2024–25. These funds supported approximately 191 initiatives and 69 organizations in 2024–2025 to advance efforts to create a more equitable and welcoming Canadian sport system.
• Additionally, in 2024–25, Sport Canada allocated $1.5 million to advance research projects focused on equity-deserving people in sport. These projects include a partnership with Statistics Canada to deliver a sport module on a large-scale social survey exploring racial equity and experiences of racism in Canadian sport, and a collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to advance sex and gender-based research.
• Regarding the Innovation Initiative, several pilot projects previously funded by Sport Canada were expanded and improved sport participation for Canadians. For example, in 2019–21 the Abilities Centre piloted Mixed-Ability Rugby, a new model of sport intended to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in sport. In 2024, it was reported that the Mixed-Ability model has since been expanded and applied to 9 other sports and is being used in 16 cities across 2 provinces. Learnings were shared from previous Innovation Initiative pilot projects with community, provincial and National Sport Organizations through social media and at national symposiums such as the 2025 Sport for Life Summit.
• The Department funded research and partnerships with the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Statistics Canada and public opinion research companies to conduct research on, and mobilize knowledge related to, the experiences of different subpopulations participating in sport. Examples of subpopulations addressed included official language minority communities, racialized communities, persons with a disability and female athletes.
• In 2024-25, the Community Sport for All Initiative provided $5 million in funding to national-level organizations to remove barriers and increase sport participation rates for equity-deserving and underrepresented people in sport, Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, low-income people, persons with a disability, newcomers and seniors. The Community Sport for All Initiative provided funding to 13 national-level organizations to disburse funding to community organizations to deliver sport projects in communities to increase participation and retention in sport.
• Launched in 2024, the Compliance and Accountability Division developed a modernized funding model for the Sport Support Program, which integrates enhanced compliance and accountability tools and processes at the centre of Sport Canada’s renewed program delivery. The model provides options for managing risks early in the funding process and use funding decisions to incentivize organizations to adopting effective behaviours.
• To strengthen sport organizations’ accountability and to further promote funding recipients’ compliance, five governance requirements were included within the modernized funding model and must be met before a recipient can receive funding. These requirements cover strategic planning, board of directors, internal controls, transparency, and disciplinary and appeals policies and procedures. Throughout the funding cycle, the results of the risk-based assessment allow Sport Canada to identify organizations that require closer scrutiny or tailored monitoring, which could lead to an enhanced monitoring plan. There were four enhanced monitoring plans in place in 2024-25.
• Federally funded recipients have been required, since April 1, 2021, to have a policy on concussions that covers the areas of awareness, prevention, detection, surveillance, and management. In addition, each organization must have a specific return-to-sport protocol compliant with the latest Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport. To help keep advancing work on preventing concussions and brain injuries, Canadian Heritage and Public Health Agency of Canada continue to play a shared role in multi-sectoral and federal, provincial and territorial discussions on the topic.
• The Government of Canada continues to stand firmly behind efforts to ensure fairness and integrity in all levels of sport. As part of this commitment, Sport Canada has continued to fund the operations of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program, which fulfills Canadian obligations for the World Anti-Doping Code and the UNESCO Anti-Doping Convention.

Future of Sport in Canada Commission

• On May 9, 2024, the Commission was officially announced as an independent body committed to reviewing the Canadian sport system in collaboration with stakeholders, including survivors. Originally set for 18 months, the Commission’s mandate was extended to March 31, 2026. With a trauma-informed, survivor-centred approach, its mission is to highlight experiences, support healing, and recommend meaningful improvements to the sport system in Canada.
• Once the Commission established its operations, in fall 2024, a public online submission portal was launched, offering athletes, parents, coaches, officials, administrators, and individuals affected by maltreatment in sport a dedicated platform to share insights and experiences. In October, the Commission began cross-country consultations, inviting Canadians from all regions to contribute their perspectives in shaping a safer and more inclusive sport environment across the country.

Key risks

In 2024-25, Sport Canada experienced a reduction in available funding resulting from a Budget 2023 decision to refocus Government spending, bringing it in line with pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Despite these reductions, Sport Canada has continued to prioritize safe sport and gender equity, equity, diversity, and inclusion as demonstrated by its investment in these areas:

• Canadian Heritage contributes to the delivery of the Abuse-Free Sport Program in its services to athletes through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport through the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.
• In addition, to receive core funding in 2024-25, sport organizations were required to become Abuse-Free Sport Program Signatories, which included requirements to adopt the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport and ensure all other internal policies and procedures were consistent with the Code. To ensure continuity, the transition of the administration of the Code between organizations was facilitated by the Department.

As a result of these mitigations, sport participants continued to have access to an independent reporting mechanism to address maltreatment, as well as prevention resources and support services. The development of the new Canadian Safe Sport Program, administered by the Canadian Centre for Ethics, was informed by the lessons learned from the Abuse-Free Sport Program and the Government of Canada has continued to demonstrate its commitment to preventing and addressing maltreatment in Canadian sport.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 15: Snapshot of resources required for Sport

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Related government priorities

This section highlights government priorities that are being addressed through this core responsibility.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

In 2024–25, several programs under core responsibility 3 sought to improve representation of equity-deserving groups in sport programming, through various components of the Sport Support Program.

For example, the Sport Support Program’s Gender Equity and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion component administered $7 million in approved funding in 2024–25 to support approximately 191 initiatives and 69 organizations to advance efforts to create a more equitable and welcoming Canadian sport system. Approved project funding focused on increasing sport participation for equity-deserving people, specifically women and girls, Indigenous people, people living with disabilities, Black, racialized and religious minority communities, 2SLGBTQI+ and newcomers to Canada, and those with these intersecting identities. The projects focused on sport policy and governance activities at the national level, creating opportunities for equity-deserving people to participate in sport programming, leadership and coaching development, improved communication strategies and representation of equity-deserving people in sport and improved data collection and monitoring efforts.

The Community Sport for All Initiative provided $5 million to 13 national-level organizations in support of increased participation of youth and underrepresented groups, specifically Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, low-income people, persons with a disability, newcomers to Canada, and seniors.

Under the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities component, $12.65 million was distributed to 119 recipients. This component offers flexibility that supports Indigenous communities and organizations to self-determine their own social development goals and how to go about achieving them. Recognizing and respecting that there are many important cultural and holistic approaches to health and wellness in Indigenous communities, a broader definition of sport is used to support communities in their project delivery.

Sport Canada allocated $1.5 million to advance research projects focused on equity-deserving people in sport. These projects include a partnership with Statistics Canada to deliver a sport module on a large-scale social survey exploring racial equity and experiences of racism in Canadian sport, and a collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to advance sex and gender-based research. Sport Canada funded the collection of disaggregated baseline and time series data on both general population and subpopulations through commissioned research and public opinion surveys. Examples included a Physical Activity and Sport Monitor focused on experiences of children and youth, and surveys on Official Language Minority Communities and Disability Inclusion in sport.

In 2024–25, as part of the Sport Support Program’s core funding applications, organizations were asked to submit evidence of prioritizing equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility and reconciliation in their applications. Over 87% of National Sport Organization demonstrated evidence that they are actively working to improve equity and inclusion in their sport and in their organizations.

Sport Canada’s Gender Equity, Inclusion and Innovation unit evolved to become the Sport Participation, Performance and Inclusion team within the Multilateral Policy Division. With this evolution, the team continues to work collaboratively with all Sport Canada program and policy teams to consider equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in decision-making, language and reporting in sport. For example, the team supported program analysts in the Sport Support Program during the evaluation of all core funding applications by developing best practice resources, leading individual and group training to support the review of the inclusion criteria, and providing equity, diversity and inclusion policy advice, as requested.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2024–25, initiatives related to core responsibility 3, such as the Athlete Assistance Program, Community Sport for All Initiative and the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities, helped advance Good health and well-being (SDG 3), Quality education (SDG 4) Gender Equality (SDG 5), and Reduced inequalities (SDG 10):

• Sport Canada supported organized sport at the community level through a Community Sport for All Initiative funded through the Sport Support Program. The Community Sport for All Initiative aimed to remove barriers and increase participation for equity-deserving communities through a Budget 2024 allocation of $15 million over two years ($5 million in 2024–25 and $10 million for 2025–26). One project included supporting Canada Basketball in providing grants to community organizations for implementation of sport activities, including skill-building clinics, youth tournaments, and engaging competitions designed for children of all ages and skill levels. (SDG 3 and SDG 10)
• Sport Canada provided $2 million to the 13 provinces and territories through federal, provincial and territorial bilateral agreements in 2024–25, including $1.2 million to strengthen Indigenous leadership and capacity of the Provincial and Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies and $800,000 to increase culturally relevant sport programming for Indigenous children and youth at the community level. (SDG 3 and SDG 10)
• The Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities component offers flexibility that supports Indigenous communities and organizations to self-determine their own social development goals and how to go about achieving them. Recognizing and respecting that there are many important cultural and holistic approaches to health and wellness in Indigenous communities, a broader definition of sport is used to support communities in their project delivery. (SDG 3 and SDG 10)
• The Athlete Assistance Program provided 435 currently carded athletes with about $1.3 million in tuition payments as well as 337 formerly carded athletes with about $1.1 million in deferred tuition payments (SDG 4).
• The Sport Support Program’s Gender Equity and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion component supports projects aimed at increasing sport participation for equity-deserving people, specifically women and girls, Indigenous people, people living with disabilities, Black, racialized and religious minority communities, 2SLGBTQI+ and newcomers to Canada. (SDG 5 and SDG 10)
• Sport Canada allocated $1.5 million to advance research projects focused on equity-deserving people in sport. (SDG 5 and SDG 10)

More information on Canadian Heritage’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Core responsibility 3: Sport is supported by the following program:

• Sport Development and High Performance

Additional information related to the program inventory for Sport is available on the Results page on GC Infobase.

Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Progress on results
• Details on results
• Key risks
• Resources required to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Focuses on celebrating Canada’s diversity, identity and multicultural heritage, promoting resilient communities and reinforcing the rights of Canadians, as a means to foster diversity and inclusion and supports legislation on multiculturalism. Promotes and supports domestic implementation of international human rights treaties, constitutional and quasi-constitutional rights in Canada. Works in collaboration with a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations to support the provision of programs and services on matters of diversity and inclusion. Supports the engagement, participation and inclusion of Canadian youth in their communities and in exchange activities. Revitalizes, preserves and promotes Indigenous languages and cultures and celebrates achievements, and strengthens Indigenous communities through investments in a variety of initiatives.

Quality of life impacts

Canada’s Quality of Life Framework measures the well-being of people in Canada. It is organized into domains and subdomains, each of which include a number of indicators. The Diversity and inclusion core responsibility is aligned with the key domains, subdomains and indicators below.

Progress on results

This section details the Department’s performance against its targets for each departmental result under Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion.

Tables 16-20 provide a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under Diversity and inclusion.

Table 16: Canadians value diversity.

Table 17: Individuals or groups have access to funding to initiate or participate in test cases pertaining to rights and freedoms covered by the Court Challenges Program.

Table 18: Canadians value human rights.

Table 19: Increase in the use of Indigenous languages.

Table 20: Youth enhance their appreciation of the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian experience.

The Results section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provides additional information on results and performance related to its program inventory.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Diversity and inclusion in 2024–25 compared with the planned results set out in Canadian Heritage’s Departmental Plan for the year.

Canadians value diversity

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, the Department launched Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028, and the first Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, which helps communities to have access to resources that support the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political life of Canada, while also raising awareness of issues related to racism and hate in Canada. This reinforced the Government of Canada’s commitments to combatting hate and racism experienced by affected communities, and investments in the empowerment of these communities.
• The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch supported data and evidence on research projects to advance the Strategy’s objectives through collaborations with Statistics Canada and Justice Canada. In October 2024, Statistics Canada published the Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait, as part of a portrait series as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada.
• Meanwhile, the Department continued to support initiatives that promote diversity, foster inclusion, and combat systemic racism, discrimination, and hate in all its forms through funding to support community-based initiatives. In 2024–25, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program approved funding for:
  • 150 initiatives under the Organizational Capacity Building component, totalling $14 million over 2 fiscal years (from 2024–25 to 2025–26)
  • 522 initiatives under the Events component, totalling $12.3 million for 2024–25.
  • 31 initiatives under the Anti-Hate Call, totalling $5.5 million over 2 fiscal years (2024–25 to 2025–26).
  • 13 initiatives under the National Holocaust Remembrance Program, totalling $3.4 million over 5 fiscal years (2024–25 to 2028–29).
• The Department continued to commemorate the contributions of Canada’s diverse communities, such as through Black History Month and Asian Heritage Month events.
• Canadian Heritage continued to support the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. On October 31, 2024, the Special Envoy released a Canadian Handbook on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism.
• The Department also continues to support the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. On March 3, 2025, the Special Representative published a new accessible and educational resource, The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combatting Islamophobia: For a more inclusive Canada, as part of its commitment to combatting Islamophobia, and in support of the objectives of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.

Canadians value human rights.

Results achieved

• The Human Rights Program launched a promotional campaign to celebrate Human Rights Day on December 10. Initiatives focused on Canada’s work during its appearance at the United Nations as part of its review by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the creation of animated videos. These videos were published in the run-up to Human Rights Day on social media and are available on the Canadian Heritage YouTube channel.
• Efforts continued in translating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to support reconciliation and promote a better understanding of fundamental rights, by adding five Indigenous languages to those already available: Algonquin, Dëne sųłıné, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut (Northern Baffin) and Plains Cree. With these additions, 11 Indigenous language translations are now available online.
• With coordination support from Canadian Heritage, Canada appeared before United Nations human rights treaty bodies under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in October 2024, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2025. Canada also submitted comprehensive reports on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, reflecting contributions from all governments.
• Through the officials-level and senior-level committees supporting the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Table on Human Rights, progress was made on priorities from the 2023 Forum of Ministers on Human Rights: raising awareness about the Universal Declaration on Human Rights’ 75th anniversary, strengthening federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, advancing children’s rights, and considering new treaty accessions. Canada signed the Belém do Pará Convention in March 2025 and is working with federal, provincial and territorial partners towards ratification.
• In addition, Canadian Heritage also partnered with a civil society organization and an Indigenous organization to gather perspectives from across Canada on how the recommendations from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women could be actioned. The documents resulting from this partnering work were shared with federal, provincial and territorial governments to inform decision-making in their respective jurisdictions with respect to the recommendations.
• This work was complemented by two national information-sharing sessions convened through the officials-level committee supporting the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Table on Human Rights. These sessions allowed for questions to be addressed and updates to be shared on recently concluded and upcoming reviews — namely the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Universal Periodic Review. They also marked the launch of Canada’s new Federal-Provincial-Territorial Engagement Approach on treaty body reporting and the Universal Periodic Review, building on the Engagement Strategy on Canada’s International Human Rights Reporting Process. The sessions brought together subject-matter experts from more than 10 federal departments and engaged over 200 partners at the first session (a hybrid meeting with 31 participants in person) and more than 130 partners at the second virtual meeting.
• In response to requests for dialogue, Canadian Heritage also held eight bilateral meetings with partners and stakeholders — including Indigenous representatives, civil society organizations, and human rights commissions — to discuss Canada’s international human rights processes.
• In 2024–25, the Human Rights Program held bilateral meetings with the Métis National Council, the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to advance work under Measure 109 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan. These discussions focused on developing distinctions-based mechanisms to formalize Indigenous participation in the implementation of Canada’s international human rights obligations, in reporting and follow-up processes under international human rights treaties, and in engagement on treaties that Canada has not yet ratified.
• The Federal Human Rights Implementation Framework continues to play a key role in strengthening intragovernmental coordination and ensuring Canada’s compliance with international human rights obligations. The Framework operates through several established platforms, including thematic interdepartmental working groups and the Director Generals’ Forum on Human Rights (DG Rights Forum). In 2024–25, three DG Rights Forum meetings were convened, focusing on Canada’s appearances before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as on the outcomes of Canada’s Universal Periodic Review. These meetings allowed departments to align with cross-cutting priorities, share best practices, and coordinate responses to recommendations on ways to improve the implementation of human rights.

Individuals or groups have access to funding to initiate or participate in test cases pertaining to rights and freedoms covered by the Court Challenges Program.

Results achieved

• The Court Challenges Program is administered by the University of Ottawa, which allocated and redistributed funds to the final beneficiaries. The University fulfilled this mandate, respecting solicitor-client privilege and complying with the provisions of the contribution agreement.
• Canadian Heritage has renewed the pool of experts responsible for official language rights through a transparent and merit-based recruitment process. All vacancies were filled in a timely manner with qualified individuals. Experts are from a variety of backgrounds, reflecting Canada’s richness and diversity, including both official languages, minority communities, ethnocultural groups, Indigenous peoples and 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

Increase in the use of Indigenous languages

Results achieved

• Budget 2024 provided $225 million over five years and $45 million ongoing to support Indigenous Peoples in their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages. In 2024–25, the Department spent approximately $181.2 million towards this purpose.
• The Department concluded a new multi-year agreement with the Cree Nation Government in Québec to support the implementation of a language strategy for their communities. The Department also continued to support the four First Nations regionally designated organizations (the First Peoples’ Cultural Council in British Columbia, the First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centers in Ontario, Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey in Nova Scotia and the Regional Committee on Languages in Québec) that implement their language revitalization strategy for their region through a long-term funding agreement. Funding proposals from communities in the other provinces and territories continue to be assessed and recommended by the First Nations Review Committee.
• Canadian Heritage also continued to implement distinctions-based funding models for Indigenous languages. For the Inuit funding model, the Department continued supporting the four Inuit land-claim organizations (the Nunatsiavut Government, Makivik Corporation, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.) through five-year agreements to implement their multi-year strategies focused on strengthening and maintaining Inuit languages. For the Métis funding model, in 2024–25, the Department continues to support five Métis Nations, respectively in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, so that they could implement their respective language revitalization strategies.
• Canadian Heritage continued to progress on access to services in Indigenous languages. In 2024–25, the Department engaged with over 20 federal departments and agencies to assess the federal government’s capacity to provide services in Inuktut in Nunavut and to identify opportunities for enhancing these services.
• Furthermore, the Department translated the Indigenous Languages Act in four languages (Inuktitut North Baffin, Michif Cree, Dëne sųłıné and Mi’kmaq), as well as Canada’s National Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in six languages (Dëne sųłıné, Innu Aimun, Inuktitut, Mi’kmaq, Michif and Oji-Cree).

Youth enhance their appreciation of the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian experience.

Results achieved

• In 2024–25, the Exchanges Canada Program made important strides in implementing recommendations from the evaluation published in March 2022. Key progress included work on refining the Program’s performance measurement strategy through engagement sessions with stakeholders. The Program also initiated work to update its results and indicators to optimize the data collection process. Additionally, options for a renewed program model were developed with the aim of promoting diversity and inclusivity among participants.
• Furthermore, the Youth Take Charge Program successfully implemented recommendations stemming from the delivery efficiency review that was completed in 2023–24. Most notably, procedures for analyzing eligibility, assessing funding applications, as well as the decision-making process were streamlined. This has improved the effectiveness of the overall process, increased the timeliness of funding decisions for recipients and reduced the Program’s operational burden.
• Also, the Exchanges Canada Program examined the results from a fall 2023 survey of youth in Canada, aged 16 to 30, that aimed to better understand their preferences related to cultural exchange programming. Promoted via social media and stakeholder networks, the survey revealed strong interests among respondents in forming new friendships, exploring cultural diversity, history, and democracy. Results showed a preference for in-person experiences and travel within Canada, allowing for the discovery or other regions of the country. The most popular themes included arts, community involvement, and Indigenous perspectives. Respondents identified personal growth, enhanced social skills, and deeper connections with local communities and cultures as important benefits of such programming.

In support of the core responsibility, the Youth Secretariat also conducted the following activities in 2024–25:

• The Youth Secretariat coordinated and connected Cohort 6 members of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council with senior government officials, cabinet ministers, and the Prime Minister through 55 engagements.
• To prepare the second State of Youth Report, the Secretariat selected an external organization to gather the views of nearly 3,000 young people using an online engagement tool, as well as facilitating both virtual and in-person sessions.
• The Youth Secretariat convened 10 meetings across the Director General’s Committee on Youth, Youth Council Coordinators Network, and quarterly interdepartmental forums that convened representatives from nearly 40 federal departments and agencies, to collaborate and share recent research and best practices.
• In addition, the Youth Secretariat supported ongoing policy discussions and the integration of youth priorities into federal programming and initiatives, with the presentation of three research projects and two quarterly reports. It collaborated with multiple federal departments to produce seven editions of the newsletter, Leaders Today, reaching nearly 22,000 subscribers across Canada and helped to share information about youth priorities and programs across federal departments.

Key risks

Racism and hate can be compounded in varying degrees by intersecting social identity factors and by increasing the complexity of effectively addressing different communities’ issues. The design and implementation of Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate were informed by extensive consultations to mitigate this risk. The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch consulted with communities, and with federal institutions, to ensure a cohesive whole-of-government approach. Furthermore, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program used a community-centred and distinctions-based approach for Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.

Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate are temporary initiatives. With time-restricted and limited support to create opportunities for marginalized communities, the end of these initiatives continues to create gaps where communities do not have sufficient resources to support their work. To mitigate this risk, the branch strengthened research and evidence to build understanding of issues, disparities and challenges faced by diverse communities, allowing for better evidence-based decision-making.

Despite the initial risk concerning the capacity of the Court Challenges Program to fully use additional funds announced in Budget 2023, the program effectively spent the allocated amounts. The program beneficiary reports having used over 90% of its annual budget to support case funding and program operations. The program was able to absorb the budget increase planned for 2024–25 and continue rigorous management of its resources to support funded cases.

The Human Rights Program, in collaboration with key partners, has been actively engaged in dialogue. While there remains a risk that some stakeholders—particularly those from underrepresented groups—may feel that their expectations have not been fully met, mitigation measures are in place. These include sustained dialogue, continuous engagements and information sharing to ensure that partner perspectives and feedback are meaningfully incorporated into program activities. In 2024–25 alone, two engagement sessions with over 100 stakeholders were convened, and six bilateral meetings with coalitions or individuals were held to share information, discuss expectations, provide feedback, and identify areas for improvement.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 21: Snapshot of resources required for Diversity and inclusion

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Related government priorities

This section highlights government priorities that are being addressed through this core responsibility.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

In 2024–25, several programs under core responsibility 4, by virtue of their mandate, sought to undertake initiatives to advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

For example, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch launched Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 on June 8, 2024. The Strategy aims to address systemic racism and advance equity for Indigenous, Black, other racialized, and ethno-religious minority communities.

A few months later, on September 24, 2024, the Government introduced Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, the first cross-government plan focused specifically on hate. While it builds on the work of the Anti-Racism Strategy, it responds directly to rising hate incidents, both online and in communities. The Action Plan advances initiatives that support a wide range of groups, including 2SLGBTQI+ communities, women, and persons with disabilities, and focuses on prevention, support for victims, and institutional readiness.

The Indigenous Languages Program is currently working with Indigenous partners on the collection of disaggregated data through new reporting mechanisms to support analysis of gender-based impacts of the program and inform program improvements.

The Exchanges Canada and Youth Take Charge programs have continued to assess funding applications with consideration of several identity factors included in GBA Plus, such as the place of residence, sex, gender, ethnic origin, as well as disability and the number of youth involved in proposals. Altogether, youth-serving organizations funded by the programs delivered projects on a geographic and demographic scope and scale reflective of the overall population of youth in Canada, which helped support gender and demographic diversity in the participation to funded projects.

In 2024–25, efforts continued to build on work underway to apply a decolonial lens. For example, the Exchanges Canada and Youth Take Charge programs refined their performance measurement strategy by nuancing the text, making it more inclusive and better adapted to the Indigenous perspective. They began working on updating program targets and data collection processes by considering the diverse preferences and realities of youth in Canada and their current needs. Additionally, a definition was developed to better support the concepts of diversity and inclusivity, which are at the core of a key program indicator in the Exchanges Canada Program.

As part of a program delivery efficiency review, the Youth Take Charge Program finalized a GBA Pus analysis which presents findings on the program model, administration and performance as they relate to GBA Plus.

The Youth Secretariat engaged youth-serving organizations as well as federal departments and agencies to strengthen equitable participation in the second State of Youth Report and recruitment of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council Cohort 7.

Outreach campaigns through schools, youth-serving organizations, and social media aimed to increase participation among equity-deserving youth, including Indigenous youth; racialized youth; youth not in employment, education or training; youth from official language minority communities; 2SLGBTQI+ youth; and youth with disabilities.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2024–25, initiatives related to core responsibility 4 helped advance Reduced inequalities (SDG 10) and Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16):

• The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program supported initiatives that promote diversity, foster inclusion, and combat systemic racism, discrimination, and hate in all its forms through funding to support community-based initiatives. (SDG 10)
• The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch also launched Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028 and the first Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate as part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to combatting all forms of racism, discrimination and hate (SDG 10).
• Canadian Heritage advanced access to federal services in Indigenous languages. The Department worked with over 20 federal departments and agencies, in collaboration to assess the federal government’s capacity to provide services in Inuktut in Nunavut and to identify opportunities for enhancing these services. (SDG 10)
• The Youth Secretariat worked to reduce inequalities affecting youth by advancing recruitment reforms for the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, simplifying application requirements and introducing accessible interview options to lower barriers for diverse youth. Focused outreach engaged underrepresented youth, including Indigenous youth; racialized youth; youth not in employment, education or training; youth from official language minority communities; 2SLGBTQI+ youth; and youth living with disabilities. The Secretariat embedded a GBA Plus lens in research products and policy advice and is analyzing demographic data to identify participation gaps. (SDG 10)
• The Youth Secretariat facilitated knowledge sharing by convening 10 interdepartmental meetings involving nearly 40 federal departments and agencies, fostering collaboration to strengthen youth participation in federal initiatives and improve program impact. The Youth Secretariat also delivered tailored equity and GBA Plus training to staff involved in the Prime Minister’s Youth Council recruitment, to support inclusive candidate assessments. Research findings and the Youth Impact Analysis Tool were shared to help departments integrate youth perspectives into policies and programs. The bilingual Leaders Today newsletter shares information about federal employment and programs with diverse youth to facilitate their participation and access to these opportunities. These activities support a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to advancing youth priorities and achieving equitable outcomes. The Youth Secretariat also produced and shared two internal research products through government-wide networks. (SDG 10)
• The Court Challenges Program continues to contribute to the reduction of inequality by providing financial support to people living in Canada to bring test cases of national importance to court that aim to clarify and assert certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official languages and human rights. The Program also offers Canadians a concrete means of asserting their rights, while contributing to the strengthening of democratic institutions. In 2024–25, the Court Challenges Program advanced key official languages and human rights cases by funding 115 applications, including 48 in official languages and 67 in human rights. (SDG 10 and SDG 16)
• As the federal secretariat for Canada’s National Mechanism for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up, the Human Rights Program plays a central coordination role in supporting coherence, accountability, and whole-of-government participation in human rights reporting and implementation. It leads the development and implementation of Canada’s Federal Human Rights Implementation Framework, a governance model that promotes interdepartmental collaboration on human rights. Under Action Plan Measure 109, the Program is also working to develop distinctions-based mechanisms to support formal Indigenous participation in the implementation, monitoring, and reporting of international human rights obligations, thereby promoting equitable governance, ensuring diverse and inclusive participation, and reinforcing human rights infrastructure at all levels of government. (SDG 10 and SDG 16)

More information on Canadian Heritage’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Core responsibility 4: Diversity and inclusion is supported by the following programs:

• Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism
• Human Rights
• Indigenous Languages
• Youth Engagement

Additional information related to the program inventory for Diversity and inclusion is available on the Results page on GC Infobase.

Core responsibility 5: Official languages

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Progress on results
• Details on results
• Key risks
• Resources required to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Supports the promotion of Canada’s two official languages in Canadian society as well as the development of official-language minority communities by collaborating with voluntary organizations and provincial and territorial governments. Fosters a coordinated approach to ensure participation from across the federal government in the implementation of the Official Languages Act, and the coordination of related horizontal initiatives.

Quality of life impacts

Canada’s Quality of Life Framework measures the well-being of people in Canada. It is organized into domains and subdomains, each of which include several indicators. The Official languages core responsibility is aligned with the key domains, subdomains and indicators below.

Progress on results

This section details the Department’s performance against its targets for each departmental result under Core responsibility 5: Official languages.

Table 22: Canadians recognize and support Canada’s official languages.

Table 23: Federal institutions develop and implement policies and programs in accordance with Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

The Results section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provides additional information on results and performance related to its program inventory.

Details on results

The following section describes the results for Official languages in 2023–24 compared with the planned results set out in Canadian Heritage’s Departmental Plan for the year.

Canadians recognize and support Canada’s official languages.

Results achieved

• Since 2023, Canadian Heritage has been implementing the Partnerships to Strengthen Part VII, an initiative to increase collaboration with the Canadian public to benefit and promote official languages, from the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028. Two federal working groups involving 27 institutions were created, one of which is dedicated to labour needs and economic development in official language minority communities. These groups met on several occasions to better coordinate federal efforts in key areas. Concurrently, four dialogue sessions were held to improve cooperation between government and communities. Dozens of community organizations and several federal departments took part in these initiatives.
• The Department also organized five dialogue sessions that brought together 152 community organizations from across Canada. These consultations, which followed a “by and for” approach, gathered perspectives on key issues, including the protection and promotion of the French language. The Department also facilitated collaboration between these stakeholders and two interdepartmental working groups—one on restoring the demographic weight of Francophones and the other on employment in a context of labour shortages.
• Meanwhile, in 2024–25, the Department stepped up its efforts with federal partners and the community sector to implement the Action Plan by developing an accountability framework and an infographic illustrating the societal impacts of the investment of $4.1 billion over 5 years. The Department also organized information sessions attended by community organizations and federal partners to coordinate public communications. Reporting was strengthened for the Action Plan’s 82 initiatives, ensuring more rigorous monitoring of investments and results.
• For 2024–25, Canadian Heritage and most provinces and territories (except Quebec) signed a new Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction that runs to 2027–28, and signed subsequent bilateral agreements. The Protocol provides for over $1.4 billion in funding, including $498.5 million in additional contributions to address teacher recruitment and retention and post-secondary education in the minority language.
• Also, five new intergovernmental agreements for expanded minority-language services were signed with British Columbia, Nunavut, Yukon, Quebec and New Brunswick, for a total of $71.2 million. These collaborative agreements led to the adoption of strategic plans. For example, in Manitoba, the public service improved its bilingual capacity and online services.
• Lastly, a special fund of $5 million per year was created to support emerging projects, including a pilot program for French-speaking health navigators in Nova Scotia.
• As part of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028, several targeted investments were made to strengthen the cultural and linguistic vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities:
  • Funding of $5 million over five years went to enhance Canadian Heritage’s PassepART program, supporting an expansion of cultural activities in French-language and immersion schools. In 2024–25, over $600,000 in micro-grants was awarded through the ImmersART program, supporting more than 285 activities in 440 immersion schools across Canada.
  • An additional $5 million went to the Media Internships Initiative to extend youth internship opportunities to sectors experiencing labour shortages, notably the arts, culture, identity and citizen participation.
  • A new $5 million Youth Initiatives Fund was set up to provide young Francophones and Francophiles aged 15 to 30 with learning and engagement opportunities to strengthen their sense of attachment to the French language and Francophone culture. This initiative is being rolled out by the Dialogue Network, a recognized player in supporting exchanges between French-speaking communities in Canada.
  • In support of French-language education, a $6.5 million fund was created to promote the production, dissemination and mobilization of scientific knowledge in French, with the goal to strengthen engagement between scientific communities and partners, and to expand the benefits for Francophone minority communities.
  • A $2.5 million fund, Building Bridges Through Arts, Culture and Heritage, was launched to strengthen the cultural and heritage programs of Quebec’s English-speaking communities, while fostering intercultural dialogue with the Francophone community. In 2024–25, nearly $491,000 was distributed via the Trellis Micro-Grant and SHARE programs, funding 35 arts and heritage projects.

Federal institutions develop and implement policies and programs in accordance with Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

Results achieved

• As part of the Department’s work on strengthening interdepartmental collaboration, the Regional Official Languages Network, launched in March 2024, participated in regional committees and Official Languages Day. The Network helped promote local initiatives and share best practices in advancing the two official languages. Regional officers provided business intelligence and contributed to the discussions among assistant deputy ministers. The Network also played a key role in implementing the new Employment Assistance Services stream of Employment and Social Development Canada’s Enabling Fund by tailoring project assessments to local realities.
• In October 2024, the Agreement for the Development of Arts and Culture in the Francophone Minority Communities was renewed for 2023–2028. The Agreement supports Francophone cultural vitality at a time when French is recognized as an endangered official language in Canada. Canadian Heritage collaborated with federal institutions and the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française and its members, facilitating meetings and working groups to address community priorities. The Agreement supports Francophone artistic development and contributes to Canada’s cultural diversity.
• Canadian Heritage also provided strategic and technical support to the Treasury Board Secretariat in 2024–25 in its pre-consultations on implementing regulations for Part VII of the Official Languages Act that requires federal institutions to take positive measures to advance English and French in Canadian society and enhance the vitality of official languages minority communities. The Department also supported the development of the Part VII regulations by sharing its expertise on Part VII and the modernized Act.
• In her role as official languages champion, the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage visited several institutions and met with key committees, raising awareness within senior management about the implementation of the modernized Official Languages Act. She also participated in major events, such as Official Languages Day 2024 and International Day of La Francophonie 2025. In addition, she rose to the 2024 Golden Quill challenge, writing a post on linguistic insecurity for the Language Portal of Canada’s Our Languages blog, in which she encouraged linguistic risk-taking.

The Department also conducted the following activities in 2024–25 to support the Official languages core responsibility:

Canadian Heritage continued implementing the modernized federal language regime by pursuing the development of draft regulations on the language obligations of federally regulated private businesses under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act.

• Pre-consultations and information sessions were held with a variety of stakeholders, who provided input for two sets of draft regulations (regulations on administrative monetary penalties under the modernized Official Languages Act and regulations on the linguistic obligations of federally regulated private businesses under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act), as well as the development of related products, such as the regulatory impact analysis statements and consultation documents. Concurrently, the Department began to engage with Indigenous peoples as required by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• The engagement strategy was informed by pre-consultations in the spring and summer of 2024. Dialogue with the three national Indigenous organizations and several regional partners has been underway since fall 2024 and will continue throughout the regulatory process.
• Meanwhile, Canadian Heritage informed federally regulated private businesses of new rights and obligations regarding language of service and language of work. Between April 2024 and February 2025, more than 20 pre-consultation meetings and information sessions were held, bringing together over 150 organizations and 250 participants. These exchanges helped shape the draft regulations and supported the overall regulatory process. The activities addressed several key elements of the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, including how the Act should be applied to the businesses within scope, criteria used to define “region with a strong Francophone presence,” potential exemptions, communications, language of work, the size of businesses within scope, and the role of the committee for fostering the use of French.
• In addition, several bilateral and multilateral meetings were held with representatives of federally regulated private businesses, including Indigenous representatives, to gather their perspectives. Two questionnaires fed into the development of the draft regulations and informed the final provisions: an online questionnaire completed by over 1,300 Canadians and a second questionnaire sent to member businesses of industry associations to gather data on the impacts and costs associated with implementing the Act.
• In connection with these two sets of regulations, information and assistance tools are being developed to support the future implementation of the new obligations.

Canadian Heritage also worked on establishing a process to periodically estimate the number of children whose parents have the right to have them receive their education in the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of a province or territory. In 2024–25, developing this process involved an analysis of multiple data sources and tests relating to the Census. Further work will be finalized in 2025–26. In the meantime, initial data tables from the Survey on the Official Language Minority Population were released.

Meanwhile, the Department has begun preparing for the 10-year review of the Official Languages Act. A conceptual and methodological framework is being developed to help track the impact of the Act between now and 2033.

Key risks

An interdepartmental working group on restoring the demographic weight of Francophones outside Quebec, co-chaired by Canadian Heritage and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, was established in spring 2024, with 15 federal institutions participating. Since then, four meetings have been held. This work is enhancing the federal government’s capacity to deploy concrete positive measures in a concerted fashion. Interdepartmental collaboration aside, community organizations have also been involved in the working group. For example, at a dialogue session held on November 12, 2024, 45 external organizations and 17 federal institutions came together to discuss demographic weight, with presentations from Statistics Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne.

Curbing the decline of French also means protecting and promoting the French language. On March 20, 2025, in conjunction with the Internal Day of La Francophonie activities, some 60 organizations gathered for a youth-focused session, where they discussed major changes that could have an impact on the protection and promotion of French in the future, particularly in schools, in the workplace, in culture and in communities.

In 2024–25, significant progress was made in implementing the modernized federal language regime, including progress on two sets of draft regulations. The first set of regulations seeks to better enforce the language rights of the travelling public by empowering the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose administrative monetary penalties. The second seeks to foster the use of French in federally regulated private businesses by granting new rights to employees and consumers in Quebec and certain designated regions. Through these measures, the Department continues to advance the substantive equality of the two official languages, enhance the vitality of linguistic minority communities and deliver the robust, modern language regime that Canadians have come to expect, one that is tailored to the realities of our country.

In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage incorporated dedicated funding—for the teacher recruitment and retention strategies and activities in minority French-language schools and French immersion and second-language programs—into the Protocol and the resulting bilateral agreements. The dedicated funds for teacher recruitment and retention, totalling nearly $51 million, are intended to alleviate the teacher shortage. Canadian Heritage also funded the work of the tripartite committees on education (French as a minority language and French as a second language). These tripartite committees bring together representatives of governments and national organizations. They have facilitated the sharing of best practices and innovative solutions, such as the use of artificial intelligence in official language learning, leading to more efficient lesson planning (for example, the development of activities, exam questions). The use of artificial intelligence to support lesson planning can lighten teachers’ workloads and potentially improve teacher retention. The dedicated investments in post-secondary education, a new feature of the Protocol for Agreements for Education (for the 2024–2028 period), contributed to the training of future French-language teachers.

Government of Canada support for the provincial and territorial governments (through the Protocol and the resulting bilateral agreements) contributes to the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in the area of education and advances bilingualism across Canada. Under these agreements, the Department contributes to the costs of minority-language education and second-language learning. Given the timetable for the negotiations, there was a risk that the intergovernmental cooperation agreements on education might not be signed in time to disburse the amounts for 2024–25. To mitigate those risks, Canadian Heritage worked effectively to negotiate the Protocol with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada in the early months of 2024–2025. Once the Protocol was ratified, Canadian Heritage organized a number of communications activities with stakeholders (including the French-language school boards) and its provincial and territorial counterparts to communicate the new features of the Protocol and to swiftly commence negotiation of the bilateral agreements. Thirteen bilateral education agreements were signed with the Protocol signatories by March 31, 2025, with 99.96% of the federal funds for 2024–25 committed, for a total of $359,946,154.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 24: Snapshot of resources required for Official languages

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Related government priorities

This section highlights government priorities that are being addressed through this core responsibility.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

In 2024–25, the Department has continued to deepen and refine its knowledge and understanding of the intersections between official languages and other social variables.

The Official Languages Branch updates its generic GBA Plus data analysis on an ongoing basis considering various factors, including gender, age group, education level, income level, unemployment rate and language transmission. In 2024–25, the Branch also completed the initial development phases for a series of products derived from generic data collected by the Branch, designed to go beyond preliminary analyses, including an infographic and a policy paper.

Canadian Heritage provided strategic and technical support to the Treasury Board Secretariat in the development of regulations under Part VII of the Official Languages Act. This included support in preparing the Secretariat’s GBA Plus analysis.

Phase II of the funding increases announced in Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028 enabled community organizations, over half of which are run by women, to implement equity, diversity and inclusion strategies, and boost their representation and networking capacity. Phase II also supported an increase in the scope and quality of the services offered by these organizations. Over 300 organizations across Canada received funding, for a total of more than $5.5 million.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2024–25, initiatives related to core responsibility 5 helped advance Quality education (SDG 4) and Reduced inequalities (SDG 10):

• Canadian Heritage expanded access to the Explore program of the Council of Ministers of Education, which offers young people the opportunity to experience language immersion in English or French in another region of the country, through three targeted initiatives: the Financial Assistance Initiative, which covers registration fees, travel costs and cultural activities, and provides pocket money for low-income youth; the Indigenous Initiative, launched in 2024, which provides similar support while offering tailored cultural and social support to reduce cultural shock and emotional stress; and the Territorial Initiative, which helps cover the travel costs of youth from Canada’s three territories and has led to significantly higher participation. (SDG 4)
• Canadian Heritage continued to support the Odyssey program of the Council of Ministers of Education, which offers language assistants the opportunity to work alongside second-language teachers in primary, secondary or post-secondary institutions, helping students practise the second language in real-life situations. The program complements the Action Plan’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, which seeks to address the teacher shortage, by offering young people their first professional exposure to the education community and piquing their interest in a teaching career. During the 2024–25 school year, 350 language assistants supported teachers, helping to improve the language skills of nearly 40,000 students. (SDG 4)
• To promote access to an inclusive, quality education, Canadian Heritage has signed bilateral agreements on minority-language education and second-language instruction with the provincial and territorial governments to support their educational offerings. The 13 bilateral agreements in effect for the 2024–25 fiscal year supported the provision of minority-language education for approximately 259,020 students from junior kindergarten to Grade 12. The agreements also enabled 474,150 students to take French immersion and 2,535,261 students to take a regular second-language program. (SDG 4)
• Canadian Heritage supported 51 school-community spaces projects in official language minority communities, thereby enhancing the educational experience in schools. These projects included renovating the reception area and creating a multi-purpose room within the building of the Society of the Centre Francophone of Lethbridge in Alberta ($162,968), as well as fitting up two additional computer labs within the existing space of the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, enabling a smooth transition to modern, responsive learning environments that incorporate state-of-the-art technology into networking and cybersecurity training. ($439,435) (SDG 4)
• The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction Between the Government of Canada and the Provinces and Territories 2024–2025 to 2027–2028 takes into account the most recent data on children of minority-language education rights holders (under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) in order to allocate funding that meets the needs of official language minority communities and expand access to education in both official languages at all education levels across Canada. (SDG 4 and SDG 10)
• Canadian Heritage continued to support the public service offerings in both official languages provided by provincial, territorial and municipal governments through a total investment of $42.1 million in 2024–25. (SDG 4 and SDG 10)
• To address the shortage of teachers in minority French-language schools and in French immersion and French second-language programs, the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy has supported various strategies and activities in the community sector. In 2024–2025, 15 innovative projects were supported, for a total of $3,810,470. (SDG 4 and SDG 10)
• Under the bilateral education agreements for 2024–2025 to 2027–2028, $104 million in dedicated funding for post-secondary education in the minority language is allocated to the provinces and territories to support post-secondary institutions. This funding helped expand access to minority-language post-secondary education across Canada. (SDG 4 and SDG 10)
• Canadian Heritage helped organize “Official Languages Day: Our Languages in Action!” (September 12, 2024), which encouraged the exploration and promotion of the official languages in all their forms. The bilingual event drew 2,139 English- and French-speaking participants, some of whom availed themselves of the simultaneous English, French, American Sign Language and Langue des signes québécoise interpretation service. (SDG 10)

More information on Canadian Heritage’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Program inventory

Core responsibility 5: Official languages is supported by the following program:

• Official languages

Additional information related to the program inventory for Official languages is available on the Results page on GC Infobase.

Internal services

In this section

• Description
• Progress on results
• Resources required to achieve results
• Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• Management and Oversight Services
• Communications Services
• Legal Services
• Human Resources Management
• Financial Management
• Information Management
• Information Technology
• Real Property
• Materiel
• Acquisitions

Progress on results

This section presents details on how the Department performed to achieve results and meet targets for internal services.

Management and oversight services

Canadian Heritage Data Strategy

The Canadian Heritage Data Strategy 2024–25 – 2026–27, aligned with the 2023–26 Data Strategy for the Federal Public Service, was completed in 2024–25 and launched for all staff on April 15, 2025. The strategy contains four key areas:

• Governance – Strengthening policies and oversight to ensure responsible data use.
• Ethical Stewardship of Data – Embedding integrity and ethical considerations in all data-related work.
• Disaggregated Data – Enhancing our ability to analyze and understand diverse experiences.
• Data Literacy – Building capacity across the Department so everyone can confidently engage with data.

Canadian Heritage Reconciliation Action Plan

The Canadian Heritage Reconciliation Action Plan 2024/2025 – 2026/2027 was launched in June 2024 and outlines a structured and strategic framework built around three core pillars: building relationships, embedding reconciliation, and strengthening capacity. This Action Plan includes clear commitments to act, measure, and report on progress, ensuring accountability and transparency throughout its implementation. By equipping employees with the knowledge and tools to deliver culturally informed services, the Action Plan supports both individual and organizational transformation.

Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

Canadian Heritage supports Justice Canada in the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and has continued to advance the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Canadian Heritage is leading 15 Action Plan Measures aimed at enhancing federal services in Indigenous languages, arts, music, and the repatriation of heritage through culturally respectful programming.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Action Plan

Through in-depth engagement with key departmental stakeholders and employment equity communities, the IDEA Office oversaw the development of the draft of the Department’s first IDEA Action Plan in 2024-25, that translates the Department’s Culture Statement into measurable and impactful actions while responding to government-wide calls to action. These include the Clerk’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as a study on the Black executive community in the federal public service.

As part of its mandate, the IDEA Office also continued to coordinate the implementation of the Canadian Heritage Accessibility Plan 2023–2025 and published the Department’s second Accessibility Progress and Feedback Report in December 2024.

Medium-Term Policy

The Strategic Policy and International Affairs Branch engaged with the departmental policy community on medium-term policy work, to inform ongoing policy development and strengthen horizontal collaboration. The Department also partnered with external collaborators to convene discussions on areas of public policy interest with academic and cultural sector experts.

International Affairs

At the international level, the Department advanced Canada’s cultural interests to promote our national identity and sovereignty. This was achieved at key multilateral events (including at the UNESCO, G7, G20 and Francophonie summits) and through the strengthening of bilateral relationships with trusted partners (including South Korea via the Canada-South Korea Year of Cultural Exchange Memorandum of Understanding), to strategically position Canada in today’s complex geopolitical landscape. The Department supported Canada’s foreign and trade policy objectives, drawing on culture, sport, official languages and Indigenous languages to ensure coherence in international commitments.

Canadian Heritage Funding Portal

Since its launch in May 2021, more than 21,000 funding requests have been submitted through the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal. The Department is developing a simplified onboarding approach for programs currently not on the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal.

The Department conducted an environmental scan and internal engagement to identify reconciliation and IDEA data needs and terminology used across Canadian Heritage and the Government of Canada. Through this work, the Department will be positioned to develop a model and establish a common terminology used to elicit, from applicants and recipients of grants and contributions, reconciliation and IDEA-related data in an ethically sound way.

Transformation initiative

In 2024-25, Canadian Heritage launched a major initiative to fundamentally transform how it governs and delivers grants and contributions. The goal of this initiative is to ensure programs are delivered in a way that is more consistent, streamlined and responsive to the needs of Canadians. A dedicated Transformation Branch was established to lead this work with support from key internal service enablers. Early efforts focused on developing an 18-month plan to simplify, streamline, standardize, and codify processes, and strengthen governance and accountability. This work directly supports the Government of Canada’s broader commitments to service excellence, transparency, and results for Canadians.

Gender-based Analysis Plus Responsibility Centre

In 2024–25, the Department’s GBA Plus Responsibility Centre continued to undertake efforts to strengthen the rigour and intersectionality of GBA Plus, with a view to ensuring it is meaningfully integrated into policy and program development, implementation, outcomes measurement, and Cabinet processes. This included continuing to support work led by Women and Gender Equality Canada to enhance GBA Plus, continuing to provide a challenge function on all Budget and Cabinet documents to support rigorous GBA Plus analysis and organizing capacity-building and awareness-raising activities through the Department’s GBA Plus Community of Practice, GBA Plus Awareness Week, as well as the work of the Assistant Deputy Minister champion of GBA Plus. The GBA Responsibility Centre also supported internal partners as they developed departmental resources to support GBA Plus, such as the Reconciliation, Treaty and Engagement Branch’s tool on Culturally Relevant and Indigenous-Centered GBA Plus; and worked with Canadian Heritage’s Innovation Lab to incorporate Knowledge Mobilization principles into the leading of the GBA Plus Community of Practice.

Human resources management services

The Department met the workforce availability for the four designated groups under the Employment Equity Act for the first time and continued to set more ambitious representation targets than those based on workforce availability for all designated groups, including Black people. The most significant progress has been among persons with disabilities, with a 21.9% increase since March 2024. Also, Canadian Heritage reached 85.2% of its objective to hire 61 additional employees to support the Government of Canada’s commitment to hire 5,000 new employees with disabilities by 2025.

A new requirement was introduced in 2024–25 to support the integration of accountability into executive performance process. High-performing executives must provide a clear example of how they contributed to reconciliation, anti-racism, equity, inclusion, or accessibility. This ensures that leadership in these areas is encouraged, recognized and rewarded.

Canadian Heritage also launched a sponsorship initiative to support the career development of Two-Spirit, transgender, nonbinary or gender-diverse employees. Four sponsorship matches were made. Indicators were developed, and both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected to assess its impact and guide future improvements.

Canadian Heritage staff in the National Capital Region and operations were effectively relocated to the Fontaine and L’Esplanade Laurier buildings, taking into account Public Services and Procurement Canada’s timeline for the Envelope Replacement Project and the progress of the new office space layout. The Department continued preparations for certain teams to be relocated to 200 Montcalm, ensuring that operational needs and requirements were met. Employee groups and committees were consulted and engaged to ensure that the accommodations provided promoted an accessible and inclusive work environment for all employees.

Financial management services

Canadian Heritage continued to strengthen its financial management approach and practices, integrating enterprise risk management and optimizing governance into its processes to ensure sound public funds management and to maximize the achievement of intended results. A business process review exercise has begun and has already enabled the integration of leaner management practices and tools for managers to strengthen management practices.

The Department started the implementation of its plans to achieve spending reductions as part of the Government’s efforts to refocus its spending towards highest priorities as announced in Budget 2023.

Program integrity

The Department activated its Response Protocol throughout the year to address allegations of hateful conduct and prohibited discrimination by funding recipients.

Additionally, all departmental program guidelines and application forms were updated in 2024-25 to include anti-racism obligations. This standardization across all funding programs strengthened risk prevention and clarified expectations from applicants and recipients.

Information management services and information technology services

Digital Workforce Enablement

In 2024–25, the Chief Information Officer Branch supported multiple office relocations in the National Capital Region as well as in regional offices. These moves included the deployment of essential information technology infrastructure—such as network cabling, enhanced boardroom audiovisual systems, and high-performance Wi-Fi—to enable reliable video conferencing and effective collaboration between on-site and remote employees. These technology upgrades are essential for meeting the needs of a modern, hybrid work environment.

Service Delivery to Canadians

Canadian Heritage continues to expand the adoption of Government of Canada-wide enterprise solutions, including Microsoft 365, GC Forms, and GC Notify. These platforms enable standardized workflows, strengthen collaboration, and ensure a consistent and accessible user experience across programs and for Canadians.

Progress on the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal Technology Roadmap continued in 2024–25, with the delivery of key enhancements in the first year of implementation. The improvements strengthened the overall system performance, reduced reliance on manual workarounds, and enhanced the user experience for both internal teams and external clients.

Information Management

In 2024–25, the information management depersonalization initiative was completed in the National Capital Region. A key achievement of this effort was the secure shredding of a significant volume of paper files. This supported our sustainability goals by reducing our physical footprint, enhanced security, confidentiality, and compliance with information retention policies.

In December 2024, the Department launched the new SharePoint Intranet Project. This initiative delivered a modern, user-friendly, and accessible intranet platform. It transformed how departmental information is structured and accessed, with improved navigation, enhanced search functionality, and a more intuitive user experience.

A customized SharePoint site structure was developed to improve collaboration and information management within the Microsoft 365 environment. Serving as a proof of concept, this project supports Enterprise Information Management principles and showcases the benefits of structured digital collaboration.

Accessible Information and Communication Technologies

Canadian Heritage is participating in several forums, working groups and task forces with Shared Services Canada and other departments’ accessibility groups to align departmental strategies and leverage government knowledge and expertise.

The Department reviews accessibility and cloud-smart strategies for all purchased information and communication devices and maintains an inventory of departmental applications indicating their level of compliance and of their cloud footprint.

Corporate Security

In 2024, the Department digitized its security screening process, and partnered with internal and external entities to augment the security posture of Department-supported major events, commemoration and ceremonial and major games as well as Canadian Heritage special representatives.

The Departmental Security Plan 2024-2027 was presented in 2024–25, to be reviewed annually to validate major security risks and continued effectiveness of security controls. Aligned with the Policy on Government Security, the Plan outlines how the Department will protect its employees, information, assets, and services through coordinated security initiatives and enables the delivery of secure, reliable, and uninterrupted services by managing security risks in a proactive, integrated, and sustainable manner. The transformation of the Department’s Security Operation Centre was launched and focuses on modernizing outdated servers and infrastructure and improving connectivity, while reducing costs with the regional offices through a new virtual private network.

Resources required to achieve results

Table 25: Resources required to achieve results for internal services this year

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page and the People section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase page provide complete financial and human resources information related to its program inventory.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses every year.

Canadian Heritage’s result for 2024–25

Table 26: Total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses*

In its 2025–26 Departmental Plan, Canadian Heritage estimated that it would award 5% of the total value of its contracts to Indigenous businesses by the end of 2024–25.

In 2024–25, Canadian Heritage saw an 8.7% increase in the total value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses relative to fiscal year 2023–24. Despite that growth, the Department awarded a large contract ($5.75 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024–25 to a non-Indigenous firm, a contract that is awarded every two years but that is reported in the year that it is awarded. This biennial contract for Canada Day event production accounted for 17% of the Department’s total contract value awarded during the reporting period. As a result, it substantially reduced the proportion of contract value awarded to Indigenous firms and was a key factor in the Department not meeting its 5 percent target.

Additionally, some procurement projects that had award and delivery planned for during the period, were delayed, further impacting the Department’s Indigenous procurement results.

Key activities in 2024–25:

• Canadian Heritage continued to leverage the use of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s established procurement tools to increase the participation of Indigenous firms in departmental contracting opportunities by inviting qualified Indigenous businesses to participate in the Department’s competitive processes.
• Some of the commodities for which Canadian Heritage issued contracts to Indigenous firms include simultaneous interpretation, computer equipment and peripherals, translation services and office furniture.
• The Department continued to participate in inter-departmental working groups to share best practices and lessons learned.
• Procurement planning documentation was updated to include the consideration of Indigenous businesses during the planning stage to ensure departmental business owners are aware of their responsibilities in achieving the target of 5%.
• The Department ensured that all existing and new procurement officers complete the mandatory courses offered by the Canada School of the Public Service (Indigenous Considerations in Procurement and Procurement in the Nunavut Settlement Area).
• Indigenous procurement contracting activities were monitored on a quarterly basis to ensure that the Department was on track to meet the planned targets.

Spending and human resources

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Financial statement highlights
• Human resources

Spending

This section presents an overview of the Department’s actual and planned expenditures from 2022–23 to 2027–28.

Refocusing Government Spending

In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $14.1 billion over five years, starting in 2023–24, and by $4.1 billion annually after that.

As part of meeting this commitment, Canadian Heritage identified the following spending reductions.

• 2024–25: $14.4 million
• 2025–26: $25.2 million
• 2026–27 and after: $39.7 million

During 2024–25, Canadian Heritage worked to realize these reductions through the following measures:

• $3.6 million was reduced in operating expenditures through operational efficiencies and further prioritizing travel and professional services throughout the organization, across its core responsibilities and internal services.
• As a first year of implementation, $10.8 million was reduced in targeted, specific grants and contributions programs, listed below, based on considerations such as efficiency and results. Targeted reductions have been implemented across four core responsibilities within the Department.

Core Responsibility 1: Creativity, Arts and Culture

The following will be eliminated:

• Canada Periodical Fund – Business Innovation component
• Canada Cultural Investment Fund – Strategic Initiatives component

The following has been reduced:

• Canada Cultural Investment Fund – Endowment Incentives component
• Canada Cultural Spaces Fund

Core Responsibility 2: Heritage and Celebration

The following has been reduced:

• Museums Assistance Program – Digital Access to Heritage component

Core Responsibility 3: Sport

The following has been reduced:

• Sport Support Program

Core Responsibility 4: Diversity and Inclusion

The following has been eliminated:

• Exchanges Canada Program – Encounters with Canada initiative

Budgetary performance summary

Table 27: Actual three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Analysis of the past three years of spending

Creativity, Arts, and Culture: The $95 million decrease in spending between fiscal years 2022–23 and 2023–24 is due to the expiration of targeted funding received to address issues in the arts and culture sectors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, one-year funds allocated for retaining skilled workers during a period of heightened uncertainty, as well as funds designated for sustaining Canada’s creative, cultural, and heritage organizations, have both expired. This decrease is partially offset by funding for the Creative Export Strategy, the Digital Citizen Initiative, and the Canada Media Fund program. The $14 million increase in spending for 2024–25 is due to new funding for the renewal and expansion of the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Canada Music Fund, programs delivered through the Canada Media Fund, and for the Canada Book Fund to enhance support for priority areas, including exports, Indigenous peoples, racialized groups and official language minority communities. There is also an increase in support for the construction of the new Montreal Holocaust Museum. However, the increase in spending is partially offset by the termination of funding for online book sales of Canadian booksellers, and support for performing arts festivals, cultural events, arts and heritage institutions, celebrations, and commemorations that strengthen communities.

Heritage and Celebrations: The $50 million decrease in expenditures from 2022–23 to 2023–24 is due to the end of funding aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic within the heritage and celebrations sector, the one-time funding received in 2022–23 to support the sustainability of Canadian heritage programs and to publicly commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign. The $49 million decrease in spending for 2024–25 is explained by one-time funding received in 2023–24 for the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, the end of support for Digital Access to Heritage, and performing arts festivals, cultural events, arts and heritage institutions, celebrations, and commemorations that strengthen communities.

Sport: The $54 million decrease in spending between fiscal years 2022–23 and 2023–24 is due to the expiration of targeted funding received to address issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic in sport sectors. This funding was intended to provide relief, facilitate business transformation, and support the return of live events and in-person sport experiences. Additionally, funding for Indigenous reconciliation and the empowerment of Indigenous women and girls through sport for social development and community sport has decreased. This decrease is partially offset by new funding, over two years, to support the development of a diverse Canadian sport system, as well as new funding, over three years, for initiatives related to safe sport and enhanced accountability in sports. The $40 million increase in spending for 2024–25 is due to various funding announced in Budget 2024. The most significant investment is the $220 million in funding over four years to support co-hosting the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup with British Columbia and Toronto.

Diversity and Inclusion: The $71 million increase in spending between fiscal years 2022–23 and 2023–24 is due to variations in funding to support Indigenous communities in reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining, and strengthening their languages. Although the funding profile decreased in 2024–25, Budget 2024 announced new five-year investments and ongoing funding to support the Indigenous Languages Act. Overall, the various funding initiatives for Indigenous languages resulted in a $34 million decrease in spending in 2024–25. The decrease was offset by an overall increase in the Multiculturalism and Anti-racism program.

Official Languages: The $20 million decrease in spending between 2022–23 and 2023–24 is due to the conclusion of various temporary funding initiatives, including one that supported minority language education in Canada. The $20 million increase in spending in 2024–25 is due to variations in funding profiles received for intergovernmental collaboration on official languages and for the official languages action plan of 2023–28.

Internal Services: Internal Services spending has remained stable and consistent throughout the years, aligning with the temporary funds received during that period.

The Department’s contribution to the refocusing of government spending announced in Budget 2023 contributed to the decrease in 2024–25 actual spending for most of the core responsibilities.

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase offers more financial information from previous years.

Table 28: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Analysis of the next three years of spending

Overall, planned spending decreases from 2025–26 through the following two years as various temporary funding initiatives come to an end.

Creativity, Arts and Culture: This core responsibility indicates the biggest decline in planned spending for 2025–26 and the following years. This is explained by various funding coming to an end in 2024–25, such as equity, diversity and inclusion support for the Canada Media Fund, the support for the construction of a new Montreal Holocaust Museum, and funding for the Special Measures for Journalism of the Canada Periodical Fund.

Heritage and Celebrations: In 2025–26, the core responsibility indicates an increase in planned spending due to new funding for the community celebrations across Canada and the major events in Canada’s Capital Region.

Sport: Overall, the core responsibility remains stable in 2025–26 planned spending and is the only one demonstrating a considerable increase in the 2026–27 planned spending, as the funding profile increases for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, with funding ending in 2027–28.

Diversity and Inclusion: The Diversity and Inclusion core responsibility indicates a decrease in its planned spending due to a decrease in the funding profile for the Indigenous communities in their efforts to reclaim, revitalize, maintain, and strengthen Indigenous languages and Multiculturalism programs. The decrease is offset by a 2025–26 new one-year funding to support the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award.

Official Languages: The current variances in the next three-year planned spending for the Official languages core responsibility are not significant compared to its total yearly funding.

Internal Services: Internal Services, as for the core responsibilities, indicates a decrease in its 2025–26 planned spending and remains stable for the following years.

For 2025–26 planned spending and future years, the Department will continue to contribute to the refocusing of government spending which will affect its actual spending.

The Finances section of the Infographic for Canadian Heritage on GC Infobase offers more detailed financial information related to future years.

Funding

This section provides an overview of the Department’s voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. Consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures for further information on funding authorities.

Graph 1: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period

Graph 1 Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period - Text version

Fiscal year	Statutory	Voted	Total
2022–23	$32,301,554	$2,268,253,483	$2,300,555,037
2023–24	$34,222,768	$2,118,238,534	$2,152,461,302
2024–25	$34,031,409	$2,106,618,565	$2,140,649,974
2025–26	$33,925,500	$2,061,662,468	$2,095,587,968
2026–27	$31,673,185	$1,880,190,174	$1,911,863,359
2027–28	$31,066,161	$1,709,877,643	$1,740,943,804

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

The 2022–23 increase in actual spending is explained by multiple temporary funding initiatives that were introduced to recover and face COVID-19 pandemic challenges. Overall, the downward slope starts in actual spending of 2023–24 and 2024–25 and continues for the following planned spending years due to the sunsetting of different temporary funding initiatives, a return to pre-pandemic departmental program activity levels, and the Department’s contribution in the refocusing government spending exercise, announced in Budget 2023, to prioritize what matters to Canadians the most. The Department has implemented measures to realize savings of $14.3 million in 2024–25, $25.2 million in 2025–26 and $39.7 million in 2026–27 and thereafter.

Over the six-year period covered in this report, the statutory funding remains stable at a proportion of less than 2% of the voted funding for each fiscal exercise. The statutory items are mainly constituted by contributions to employee benefit plans.

Consult the Public Accounts of Canada for further information on Canadian Heritage’s departmental voted and statutory expenditures.

Financial statement highlights

Canadian Heritage’s Financial statements (Unaudited) for the Year Ended March 31, 2025.

The financial highlights presented within this Departmental Results Report are intended to serve as a general overview of Canadian Heritage’s financial position and the net cost of operations before government funding and transfers. The unaudited financial statements have been prepared using the Government’s accounting policies, which are based on Canadian public sector accounting standards.

Table 29: Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2025 (thousands of dollars)

Analysis of expenses and revenues for 2024-25

The Department’s actual cost of operations in 2024–25 is higher than planned results. This increase is mainly attributable to supplementary A and B approved by Parliament during the fiscal year (supplementary A and B).

The 2024–25 planned results information is provided in Canadian Heritage’s Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2024–25

Table 30: Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited or audited) for 2023–24 and 2024–25 (thousands of dollars)

Analysis of differences in expenses and revenues between 2023-24 and 2024-25

The Department’s actual cost of operations in 2024–25 is aligned with the 2023–24 actual results, with a minimal variance of $0.2 million.

Table 31: Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited or audited) as of March 31, 2025 (thousands of dollars)

Analysis of department’s liabilities and assets since last fiscal year

The departmental net financial position was ($5.4) million in 2024–25, a decrease of $5.6 million above the previous year’s net financial position of $0.2 million. This decrease is largely explained by the increase in departmental net debt.

Total net liabilities were $839.7 million at the end of 2024–25, representing an increase of $87.8 million (10%) compared to the previous year’s total of $751.8 million. The increase is mainly explained by higher accounts payable and accrued liabilities. These were largely related to contribution agreements not paid out prior to the closing of the fiscal year or existing agreements pending the receipt of the recipient’s final report to issue the final payment. Most of those contribution agreements were related to Federal/Provincial and Territorial agreements in the Official Languages Program.

Total net financial assets were $827.5 million at the end of 2024–25, representing an increase of $84.1 million (10%) above the previous year’s total of $743.4 million. The increase is largely related to the one in liabilities. It is explained by the amount, “Due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)” which represents the amount of cash that the Department is entitled to draw from the CRF without further appropriations, to discharge its liabilities.

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the Department’s actual and planned human resources from 2022–23 to 2027–28.

Table 32: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

The decrease in actual full-time equivalents in 2023–24 represents the sunsetting of the temporary funds received to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for the heritage, arts, and sport sectors. The increase in 2024–25 actual and 2025–26 planned full-time equivalents reflects the temporary new funding announced in Budget 2024 for initiatives related to supporting festivals, live events and performing arts; building museums and cultural centres; promoting access to books, news and journalism; supporting Indigenous languages and cultures; countering hate; supporting official languages; supporting sport; and building diverse and safe communities.

Table 33: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

The number of planned full-time equivalents begins a gradual decrease starting in 2026–27 as temporary funding ends. The full-time equivalents trend may differ from the fluctuations seen in its actual and planned funding levels as most new funding is received in grants and contributions with modest portions going to the operating budget to facilitate the delivery of these new or renewed initiatives. Moreover, the Department continues to contribute to the refocusing of government spending which influences the total of full-time equivalents. The Department ensures that it has an adequate number of employees to properly support the execution of its mandate.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Canadian Heritage’s website:

• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based Analysis Plus
• Response to Parliamentary committees and external audits

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister:

• The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P.
  Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages

Institutional head: Isabelle Mondou

Ministerial portfolio: Department of Canadian Heritage

Enabling instrument: Department of Canadian Heritage Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: The Department of Canadian Heritage was created in June 1993. However, the Department of Canadian Heritage Act received Royal Assent in June 1995.

Departmental contact information

Mailing address

Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau QC  J8X 4B3 Canada

Telephone

1-866-811-0055
Call toll-free from all regions, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time)

TTY

1-888-997-3123 (for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired)

Email

info@pch.gc.ca

Website

Canadian Heritage

Definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role of a department. The departmental results listed for a core responsibility reflect the outcomes that the department seeks to influence or achieve.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report that outlines the anticipated activities and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3-year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament in spring.

departmental priority (priorité)

A plan, project or activity that a department focuses and reports on during a specific planning period. Priorities represent the most important things to be done or those to be addressed first to help achieve the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A high-level outcome related to the core responsibilities of a department.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative or qualitative measure that assesses progress toward a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report outlining a department’s accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

equity-deserving group(s) (groupes méritant l’équité)

A group of people who, because of systemic discrimination, face barriers that prevent them from having the same access to the resources and opportunities that are available to other members of society, and that are necessary for them to attain just outcomes. In Canada, groups generally considered to be equity-deserving groups include women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people who are part of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, religious minority groups and racialized people. The types of equity-deserving groups may vary based on factors such as geography, sociocultural context, or the presence of specific subpopulations. Some people argue that this term could be seen to imply that not all people are deserving of equity and may prefer different terminology, such as “equity-seeking group”, which highlights the actions of the communities that fight for equal access to resources and opportunities by actively seeking social justice and reparation. Other terms include “equity-denied group”. For further information, refer to the Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

Measures the person years in a departmental budget. An employee’s scheduled hours per week divided by the employer’s hours for a full-time workweek calculates a full-time equivalent. For example, an employee who works 20 hours in a 40-hour standard workweek represents a 0.5 full-time equivalent.

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool that helps to understand the ways diverse individuals experience policies, programs and other initiatives. Applying GBA Plus to policies, programs and other initiatives helps to identify the different needs of the people affected, the ways to be more responsive and inclusive, and the methods to anticipate and mitigate potential barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

government priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2024–25 Departmental Results Report, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda as announced in the 2021 Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

A program, project or other initiative where two or more federal departments receive funding to work collaboratively on a shared outcome usually linked to a government priority, and where the ministers involved agree to designate it as horizontal. Specific reporting requirements apply, including that the lead department must report on combined expenditures and results.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtone)

For the purposes of a Departmental Result Report, this includes any entity that meets the Indigenous Services Canada’s criteria of being owned and operated by Elders, band and tribal councils, registered in the Indigenous Business Directory or registered on a modern treaty beneficiary business list.

non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to the amounts presented in Main Estimates. Departments must determine their planned spending and be able to defend the financial numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

An Individual, group, or combination of services and activities managed together within a department and focused on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

A listing that identifies all the department’s programs and the resources that contribute to delivering on the department’s core responsibilities and achieving its results.

result (résultat)

An outcome or output related to the activities of a department, policy, program or initiative.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Spending approved through legislation passed in Parliament, other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose and the terms and conditions of the expenditures.

target (cible)

A quantitative or qualitative, measurable goal that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period.

Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and others (2SLGBTQI+) (aux deux esprits, lesbien, gai, bisexuel, transgenre, queer, intersexué et autres [2ELGBTQI+])

This is the designation used by the Government of Canada to refer to the Canadian community. Gender and sexual diversity terminology is continuously evolving. For further information, refer to the Gender and sexual diversity glossary.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Spending approved annually through an appropriation act passed in Parliament. The vote also outlines the conditions that govern the spending.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, 2025

Catalogue Number: CH1-38E-PDF

ISSN: 2560-8819