Municipal funding of arts and culture in Ottawa trailed other big Canadian cities but the city's record actually increased substantially under former mayor Larry O'Brien, according to a study published Tuesday.
Ottawa trailed Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary in arts and culture funding for a time period from 2006 to 2009, according to a study published Tuesday by Hill Strategies.
The city spent $22.4 million — or 28 cents per resident — on operating costs, grants and capital investment. Only Toronto, which spent about 19 cents per person, spent less among the five largest municipalities in Canada.
But although O'Brien's period as mayor has been portrayed as a dark period for the arts in the city, Hill Strategies president Kelly Hill said net cultural investment actually blossomed over those four years.
"Ottawa's growth rate was 90 per cent, so there's close to doubling of the investment in culture in Ottawa from 2006 to 2009, and that is the second highest rate of increase during that period," said Hill.
Since 2009 there have been other major investments in the arts, including the $36-million-dollar Arts Court redevelopment.
The study did not count federal funding for institutions such as the National Arts Centre and National Gallery of Canada.