Six in ten Canadians attended at least one arts or culture performance or event in person in the past 12 months, according to a Leger survey commissioned by Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts. 47% watched at least one event online.
Among respondents who attended arts or culture performances and events in person, 79% reported attending a performing arts event, 52% attended an art or cultural festival in their local community, 40% attended a visual arts exhibit, 35% attended an art or cultural festival outside their community, and 18% attended a First Nations, Inuit or Métis arts event.
Culturally-active audience segments
The Arts and Heritage Access and Availability Survey 2025-26 also includes detailed information on cultural participation among equity-seeking groups. In terms of in-person participation, higher rates of attendance at least once in the past 12 months are observed among 2SLGBTQI+ respondents (71%), Francophones living outside Quebec (67%), and racialized respondents (65%).
Further nuances emerge when examining specific event types.
- For performing arts events, attendance is lower among racialized respondents (75%).
- For art and cultural festivals in the local community, attendance is higher among Francophones living outside Quebec (66%), deaf respondents (61%), immigrants (56%) and racialized respondents (56%).
- For visual arts exhibits, attendance is higher among 2SLGBTQI+ respondents (55%), racialized respondents (48%) and immigrants (45%).
- For art and cultural festivals outside the community, attendance is higher among Francophones living outside Quebec (46%), racialized respondents (44%), 2SLGBTQI+ respondents (43%), and immigrants (42%).
- For First Nations, Inuit or Métis arts events, attendance is substantially higher among Indigenous respondents (54%), followed by racialized respondents (27%), Francophones living outside Quebec (26%), 2SLGBTQI+ respondents (25%), and individuals living with a disability (25%).
Effects of the pandemic
Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, a minority of respondents report increased engagement with arts and culture performances and events. Overall, 18% say they attend in-person arts or culture performances more often than before the pandemic. On the flip side, 28% say they attend in-person performances less often than before the pandemic.
Increases in in-person attendance are more commonly reported among 2SLGBTQI+ respondents (29%), Francophones living outside Quebec (25%), racialized respondents (25%), and immigrants (20%). 2SLGBTQI+ were more likely to report increased attendance (29%) than decreased attendance (21%).
Actionable insights
Several potential actions can be derived from the survey’s findings. For example,
- Evaluate whether your programming is relevant to equity-deserving groups. Programming Indigenous artists could prove to be an excellent way to attract a diverse audience.
- If you are a multidisciplinary presenter and do not host a festival, consider holding a one-day mini-festival to attract a higher proportion of Francophone, racialized, or immigrant audience members. Also explore organizing these events in partnership with organizations supporting these equity groups, such as settlement agencies.
- To promote your venue programming to immigrant populations, join the CANOO program. Based on experiences shared during a Re-Imagining Customer Relationships webinar last January, certain live performances promoted through Canoo had up to 70% first-time ticket buyers among users.
Do any of these actions resonate with you? Did you realize activities that pursued similar goals? Please share your thoughts in the Loyalty Labs, in the Member Lounge.
Joining the Loyalty Labs is free for members of CAPACOA, Orchestras Canada, PACT, and the Association for Opera in Canada.
About the survey
- The Arts and Heritage Access and Availability Survey (AHAA) is designed to collect information on Canadians’ behaviours, attitudes, and values towards an array of issues associated with the arts, culture and heritage. The Department of Canadian Heritage , in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, conducts this survey approximately every three to five years since 2001.
- The 2025–2026 edition had a sample size of 5,340 respondents, with oversampling in the territories and less populated provinces. This allows results to be broken down by province or equity group.
- Among other themes, the survey also explores:
- Attendance based on the artist’s membership in an equity group;
- Motivations and barriers;
- Perceptions of the quality and availability of local facilities and offerings;
- Attitudes toward arts and culture;
- Sense of belonging and national identity.
Our next blog post will explore motivations and barriers. If you have beautiful photos of live performances that we could use to illustrate this post, please send them our way!
