Last Friday, the Canada Council for the Arts released its annual report for 2008-09.  While we’ll be parsing the document in greater detail in the weeks to come, here are some highlights. 

In 2008-09, the Council awarded 6168 grants to artists and arts organizations in 689 communities across Canada. 

Forty-eight Canadian orchestras (and one orchestral service organization – Orchestras Canada) were awarded grants totalling $11,952,300 – an increase of $1,164,300 (or 11%) over 2007-08 grants in the professional orchestra program.

In 2008-09, Canada Council for the Arts funding represented 4.3% of the total federal commitment to arts spending – and .08% of the federal budget as a whole.
To read more, you can visit the Council’s website here.