Everyone’s talking about culture, but what is Quebec doing to promote it? One organization lists its demands

'It's time to act with ambition,' says Culture Montréal

For Emmanuelle Hébert, one thing is clear: if Quebec’s cultural sovereignty is important enough to contribute to the breakdown of trade talks between Canada and the U.S., then it deserves a greater share of the provincial budget.

The executive director of regional art council Culture Montréal says she wants to see the current percentage dedicated to arts and culture — which has been just under two per cent for the last decade — increase to three per cent over the next four years.

“We have to make sure that culture will stop being fragile because right now it is under pressure ... more than ever,” said Hébert.

Last week, Culture Montréal released a report outlining recommendations for the next Quebec government, as it’s done ahead of other provincial elections. This time around, the backdrop of tensions between Canada and its southern neighbour, paired with the rise of artificial intelligence, drive home the urgency behind its plea for a more aggressive approach to arts funding.

In particular, Culture Montréal asks that Quebec and Canada stand strong in their resolve to exclude cultural activities, goods and services from free trade agreements, and to give more bite to Quebec's legislation protecting the discoverability of French-language media on streaming platforms.

The legislation, titled An Act to Affirm the Cultural Sovereignty of Quebec and to Enact the Act Respecting the Discoverability of French-Language Cultural Content in the Digital Environment, became law in December 2025.

But Hébert says it hasn't been effective.

According to her, the office created to enforce the Quebec legislation lacks “the human and financial means to make sure that it can do the follow-up, [and breathe down] the neck of the Netflix and Amazon Primes of this world.”

Last weekend, Prime Minister Mark Carney cited the U.S.'s irritation toward Canada’s media discoverability requirements as one of the reasons Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc ultimately walked away from the negotiating table.

How Canadian content on streaming platforms became a trade issue with the U.S.

On Wednesday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer disputed that position, saying the White House had highlighted the issue of discoverability of French content on streaming services, but that it wasn’t a dealbreaker.

“Our view is you should let capitalism do its thing and let people pick, but we know that this is important to Quebec so for us this is not a red line,” he told CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

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But for Quebec-made content to even show up on streaming platforms and be competitive in the first place, media producers like the public network Télé-Québec need more funding, says Hébert.

She wants to see the next government continue to implement the Quebec Audiovisual Strategy, unveiled earlier this year, which ensures $609.6 million in funding to the industry through 2031.

Part of fueling cultural sovereignty also entails fostering an appreciation for Quebec culture both at home, through education, and abroad, through partnerships and cultural exports, Culture Montréal emphasized in its report.

Tariffs have already begun to throw a wrench into how some Quebec artists are able to showcase their talents abroad.

Isabelle Bouchard from Quebec City says she's had to pair down a 12-painting exhibition to a single work in order to make her visit to a New York City gallery profitable. Given new 50 per cent tariffs on the American side, crossing the border with all 12 paintings would have meant duties of over $8,000 on her body of work.

"For an independent artist, a 50 per cent tariff can eliminate access to an international market overnight," Bouchard told CBC's Quebec AM.

Embracing the aggressive approach

The 37 recommendations presented by Culture Montréal cover a wide range of areas, from the maintenance and modernization of cultural infrastructure and the return of free Sundays at national museums, to the protection of funds earmarked for purchasing books for schools.

In fact, Culture Montréal calls for more earmarked funds in general in order to support long-term planning for the arts.

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Culture Montréal also includes recommendations to help protect the self-determination of First Nations and Inuit through arts and culture funding. That includes calls for all three levels of government to expedite the creation of an embassy to showcase Indigenous culture in Montreal.

Overall, Hébert says Quebec has spent enough time studying the issues affecting different industries in the arts and culture sector and needs to move into an action phase — and do so aggressively.

“We’re at the mercy of many things, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in this world,” she said.

“So what we can do now is act with ambition on what we can control, and what we control is the roots that we give culture so it can grow … and it can really play its role in our communities.”

Cassandra Yanez-Leyton is a journalist for CBC News based in Montreal. You can email her story ideas at cassandra.yanez-leyton@cbc.ca.

With files from Radio-Canada's Charles Rioux