Canadian Conference of the Arts

The Canadian Conference of the Arts (the CCA) was an Ottawa-based, not-for-profit, member-driven organization that represented the interests of over 400,000 artists, cultural workers and supporters from all disciplines of the nation’s arts, culture and heritage community.

The CCA served the arts and cultural community in Canada by providing research, analysis and consultations on public policies affecting the arts and Canadian cultural institutions and industries. The CCA was active on many fronts to advance the relevance of the arts in Canadian society.

The CCA was founded in 1958, when the Canadian Arts Council adopted a new name at the same time as it submitted papers of incorporation. The name was one of several submitted to the federal government for consideration.

The Canadian Arts Council was founded in December 1945 by a coalition of sixteen arts organizations to be an advocate for artists of all disciplines. The birth of a national organization representing the interests of Canadian artists of all disciplines can be traced to the formation of the House of Commons Special Committee on Reconstruction and Re-establishment in 1942. This committee was one of several charged with identifying issues likely to face the country following the end of the Second World War and solutions reflective of Canada’s post-war prosperity and global influence.

Fifteen major cultural organizations met in Toronto in 1944 in order to draft a report for the committee on how the federal government ought to intervene in Canadian artistic and cultural development. Their three-part report, “Brief Concerning the Cultural Aspects of Canadian Reconstruction,” called for, among other things, the formation of a non-partisan national body to support and oversee the arts in Canada and the establishment of community arts centres across the country. During 1945, the coalition resolved that some kind of permanent association would be beneficial. The Canadian Arts Council was formed with the mandate to “act in collaboration [. . .] on matters affecting the common interests of the member societies.”

The council pushed for government action on issues pertaining to Canadian arts and culture, including making a presentation to the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences in 1949.

Following the formation of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Arts Council renamed itself the CCA in 1958.

The CCA has organized conferences and spoken out on all major Canadian policy proposals pertaining to arts, culture and heritage since its formation. Highlights include:

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