Overview of the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH)

Who we are

The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH, the Department) and Portfolio organizations play a vital role in the cultural, civic and economic life of Canadians.

The Department’s mandate is set out in the Department of Canadian Heritage Act and centres on fostering and promoting Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage. With total forecasted spending of $2.14 billion in 2023-24, and $1.9 billion planned for 2024-25, the Department supports arts and culture, heritage, celebrations, youth engagement, official languages, Indigenous languages and cultures, safe sport, and combatting racism and hate.^{Footnote 1}

The Department’s 2,117 diverse employees, arrayed throughout the country, work to promote an environment in which all people in Canada are able to participate in dynamic cultural experiences, celebrate their history and heritage, and help build vibrant communities from coast to coast to coast.

What we do

In addition to defining the PCH mandate, the Department of Canadian Heritage Act also includes a range of specific responsibilities, as set out in federal statutes and regulations, as well as Orders in Council.

The Department is also responsible for administering multiple statutes, including the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the Broadcasting Act, the Copyright Act, the Online Streaming Act, the Indigenous Languages Act, the Official Languages Act, and the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act.

In addition, the Department shares responsibility for administering the Physical Activity and Sport Act with the Public Health Agency of Canada. The Sport Canada branch leads this work at the Department, fulfilling a leadership role for national sport policy and administering three funding programs.

To achieve its objectives, the Department collaborates with a wide range of partners from the private sector, creative enterprises, public institutions, national sport organizations and other non-governmental organizations to enrich cultural experiences, strengthen identity, and promote participation in sport and community life.

Through a range of levers including funding programs, regulatory policies, stakeholder engagement and federal-provincial/territorial collaboration, the Department plays a significant and ongoing role in the lives of people in Canada.

This role is influenced by the Department’s operating environment, including the need to refocus government spending while also delivering on an ambitious agenda. It is also influenced by a wider context of rapid change, including advances in artificial intelligence, and increasing polarization.

In 2024-25, aligned with government-wide priorities and the Ministers’ mandate letter commitments, the Department will focus on these key priorities:

• Legislation and regulation to safeguard Canada’s creative content and stay current with industry trends in copyright, broadcasting, online news, and foreign investment. The Department will also work toward modernizing the audiovisual sector policy framework to ensure that its policies, institutions, and funding tools are responsive to contemporary issues and needs.
• Continue to support the Canadian sport system and advocate for the promotion of safety in sport and foster sporting environments that are free from maltreatment and grounded in ethics.
• Launch a new Anti-Racism Strategy, supporting Indigenous Peoples, Black, racialized, and religious minority communities, and Canada’s new Action Plan on Combatting Hate, advancing initiatives to support Indigenous, Black and other racialized, ethno-religious minorities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities and persons with disabilities.
• Continue to raise understanding and awareness of human rights by managing federal, provincial, and territorial consultations and coordination on human rights issues, by managing the reporting process for Canada’s implementation of international human rights obligations, and by promoting human rights instruments through the dissemination of information via numerous channels including social media.
• Continue implementing the Indigenous Languages Act, with a particular focus on key Indigenous language priorities found in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan.
• The federal Youth Secretariat will continue its efforts to engage youth in Canada and connect them with government policy makers through the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, the interdepartmental Director General’s Committee on Youth, in-person and virtual engagement sessions, and an online tool that will be implemented in support of the development of the second State of Youth Report, to be published in 2025.
• Continue work to achieve the substantive equality of English and French in Canadian society. To this end, the Department will continue to implement the modernized Official Languages Act and related instruments, as well as the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–28: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration.
• Advance the many facets of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) department-wide through its IDEA Office, continuing efforts to make the Department a more accessible and inclusive employer and service provider and promoting leadership accountability for inclusivity and to foster a healthy and inclusive work environment.
• As part of the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canadian Heritage will engage with Indigenous governing bodies, organizations, and communities to advance federal services in Indigenous languages, arts, music, and heritage repatriation through culturally appropriate programs.

All these trends and commitments require the Department to constantly adapt, assess and act in the interests of everyone in Canada to advance its mandate and responsibilities. In doing so, Canadian Heritage continues to play a key role in promoting and celebrating an innovative, inclusive, and prosperous society in which all people in Canada can reach their potential.

Departmental Overview

This table lists expected expenditures for the Department for the 2024-25 financial year.

Table 1 notes

Table 1 note *

Mostly for contributions to employee benefit plans

Return to table 1 note * referrer

In 2024-25, the Department will access $1.9 billion in funding. Its 2,117 full-time equivalent positions are spread across the National Capital Region and five regions:

• Atlantic region (including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick);
• Quebec region;
• Ontario region;
• Prairies and Northern region (including Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut); and
• Western region (including Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon).

The Department delivers approximately $1.6 billion in grants and contributions to support its objectives, making up more than 85 percent of its total budget of $1.9 billion, which is distributed through a variety of funding programs across the Department’s sectors:

• Community and Identity Sector, including the Youth Secretariat and Portfolio Affairs
• Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Sector
• Official Languages, Heritage and Regions Sector;
• Cultural Affairs Sector;
• Sport, Major Events, and Commemorations Sector; and
• Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs Sector.

In 2024-25, the Department will continue to advance governmental priorities across its five core areas of responsibility. These five core areas of responsibility are:

• Creativity, arts and culture;
• Heritage and celebration;
• Sport;
• Diversity and inclusion; and
• Official languages.

In addition, the Department’s internal services provide horizontal support in a variety of fields, including communications and information technology.

Core Responsibility 1: Creativity, Arts and Culture

Canadian Heritage’s responsibility in this area is to foster the creation of and access to diverse Canadian cultural content that is valued at home and abroad by supporting strong marketplace conditions for a creative, innovative, and competitive cultural sector and by creating opportunities for Canadians to engage with the arts, contributing to community vibrancy and inclusion. The Department aims to foster creativity, innovation, growth and employment opportunities in Canada’s cultural sector, as well as in the creative economy. The Department’s work in this area also supports policy, legislative and regulatory measures, and delivers funding programs that support creation, professional training, and deepening connections between cultural organizations and their communities.

The Department contributes to Core Responsibility 1 by undertaking activities to achieve the following results:

• Canadians are able to consume Canadian content on multiple platforms.
• Professional arts experiences are available to Canadians in their community.
• Creative industries are successful in the digital economy, foster creativity and contribute to economic growth.
• Creative industries are successful in global markets.
• Canadians are better equipped to counter the effects of online disinformation.

The Department achieves these results through grants and contributions programs including Canada Arts Presentation Fund; Canada Cultural Spaces Fund; Canada Arts Training Fund; Canada Cultural Investment Fund; Creative Export Canada; Harbourfront Centre Funding Program; Canada Media Fund; Canada Music Fund; Canada Book Fund; Canada Periodical Fund; TV5; Digital Citizenship Contribution Program.

Core Responsibility 2: Heritage and Celebration

The Department’s work in this area creates opportunities for Canadians to participate in celebrations and commemorations of national significance, as well as in local festivals and heritage events. The Department invests in the development of learning materials and experiences that give Canadians opportunities to enhance their understanding of Canada’s history.

Through several programs, it facilitates access to heritage and provides support to heritage institutions to preserve and present heritage to all people in Canada; 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.

The Department contributes to Core Responsibility 2 by undertaking activities to achieve the following results:

• Canadians are increasingly engaged in celebrations and commemorations of national significance.
• Canadians across the country are provided regular opportunities to engage in their communities through local arts and heritage activities.
• The public is provided with access to cultural heritage.
• Heritage objects and collections are preserved by heritage organizations for current and future generations.

The Department achieves these results through grants and contributions programs including: Museums Assistance Program; Celebration and Commemoration Program; Building Communities through Arts and Heritage.

Core Responsibility 3: Sport

This area of the Department’s work promotes and enhances Canadian participation in sport from initial introduction to sport to the highest levels. It ensures that all Canadians have access to quality aligned sport programs in a safe and welcome environment regardless of race, gender, or physical disability. It also fosters the development of high-performance athletes, coaches, officials, leaders, and organizations within the Canadian Sport System. The Department assists Canadian communities in hosting the Canada Games as well as international sport events.

The Department contributes to Core Responsibility 3 by undertaking activities to achieve the following results:

• Canadian athletes succeed at the highest levels of competition.
• Canadian children and youth are enrolled in a sport activity.
• 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 Department achieves these results through grants and contributions programs including the Hosting Program, the Sport Support Program and the Athlete Assistance Program.

Core Responsibility 4: Diversity and Inclusion

This area of the Department’s work 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. It promotes and supports domestic implementation of international human rights treaties, constitutional, and quasi-constitutional rights in Canada. It also 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. Work in this area also supports the engagement, participation, and inclusion of Canadian youth in their communities and in exchange activities. It also revitalizes, preserves, and promotes Indigenous languages and cultures, celebrates achievements, and strengthens Indigenous communities through investments in a variety of initiatives.

The Department contributes to Core Responsibility 4 by undertaking activities to achieve the following results:

• Canadians value diversity.
• 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.
• Canadians value human rights.
• Increase the use of Indigenous languages.
• Reversal of the current downward trend in the use and fluency of Indigenous languages.
• Youth enhance their appreciation of the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian experience.

The Department achieves these results through grants and contributions programs including the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program, the Court Challenges Program, the Indigenous Languages Program and the Exchanges Canada Program.

Furthermore, the federal Youth Secretariat and a branch dedicated to advancing reconciliation report under this core responsibility:

• The federal Youth Secretariat is responsible for the federal implementation of Canada’s Youth Policy and supporting the Prime Minister’s Youth Council.
• The Reconciliation, Treaties and Engagement Branch serves to develop relevant and effective strategies to support the Department’s mandate related to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

In addition, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch provides support to the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism for their domestic mandate and the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia to ensure policy alignment.

Core Responsibility 5: Official Languages

The Department’s work in this area supports the promotion of Canada’s two official languages in Canadian society and the development of official language minority communities in collaboration with voluntary organizations and provincial and territorial governments. It fosters a coordinated approach to ensure participation from all institutions of the federal government in the implementation of the Official Languages Act, and the coordination of whole-of-government initiatives on Official Languages. The Department also coordinates the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration.

The Department contributes to Core Responsibility 5 by undertaking activities to achieve the following results:

• Canadians recognize and support Canada’s official languages.
• Federal institutions develop and implement policies and programs in accordance with Section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

The Department achieves these results through grants and contributions programs including the Development of Official Languages Communities Program and the Enhancement of Official Languages Program.

Internal Services

Finally, Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that allow the Department to support programs or meet its corporate obligations. The 10 service categories are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Management Services; Real Property Management Services; Materiel Management Services; and Acquisition Management Services.

Conclusion

Canadian Heritage is focused on achieving service excellence to Canadians in a work environment that supports shared values, employee engagement and professional development. The Department takes pride in its diverse and passionate workforce, whose unique skills help accomplish the Department’s goals and objectives in a dynamic global context.

As illustrated by the breadth of the Department’s programs and responsibilities, the scope and diversity of Canadian Heritage’s activities are vast. To rise to these challenges, Canadian Heritage will continue to work with communities and individuals across this country, striving to build public policies that better serve the aspirations of all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast.