Canadian Heritage won't fund MosaïCanada in 2018
Discussions between Mosaïculture Internationales de Montréal and Canadian Heritage have not borne fruit, as Radio-Canada has learned the federal department will not fund a return of the horticulture exhibit in 2018.
A spokesperson for Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus confirmed the news, but said the MP is exploring other funding options, such as petitioning other federal departments like Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions.
Last summer the popular Canada 150 exhibit attracted 1.3 million visitors and generated $28 million for the capital region. Canadian Heritage allocated $5.2 million for the exhibition, while the provincial government and the City of Gatineau each pitched in $2 million.
The city has already set aside another $2 million for MosaïCanada to return this year, but a lack of commitment from Canadian Heritage could jeopardize support from the province.
Québec's minister of tourism, Julie Boulet, had no comment on the matter, but a spokesperson said they are continuing to review the situation.
But time may be running out. By this time last year the preparations for MosaïCanada were well underway.
In addition, the winter iteration of MosaïCanada, Mosaïvernales, did not perform as well as expected. Organizers were aiming for 200,000 visitors to the snow sculpture exhibit but fell short of the goal, with only 20,000 people attending in 20 days.
