Kim Campbell was the 19th prime minister of Canada and established the Department of Canadian Heritage. Viggo Mortensen is an actor, director, writer, poet, photographer and publisher. Both are directors of the Glenn Gould Foundation.
An American diplomat once quipped that Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and blue jeans did more to win the Cold War than U.S. military might.
There’s a lot of truth to that statement – and a lot Canada can learn from it.
It can be summed up in one phrase: culture is critical. Culture makes an impact. Culture is vital – in relations between peoples, in trade and diplomacy.
In a recent article, The Globe and Mail’s correspondent James Griffiths showed how Canada lags behind peer countries’ number of embassies and consulates abroad. He noted: “Canada is at risk of being left behind in the new global race for influence.”
A declining place in the world is costly to Canada on many levels, from social to economic. But it’s simplistic to focus only on the number of missions the country fields without talking about what goes on in them.
For instance, after eliminating embassy cultural event budgets and cultural attachés, Canada had a change of heart in 2017. It was Canada 150 – a unique opportunity to recapture the magic of the centennial year, and to promote Canadian-ness around the world. So Canada created a dedicated cultural events budget – an unbelievably paltry $1.75-million to be shared among 174 foreign missions.
It was a missed opportunity to project Brand Canada around the world. Whither the spirit of ‘67?
The standing Senate committee on foreign affairs and international trade’s 2019 report, Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy, calls for a robust revitalization of Canada’s use of its cultural capital as an instrument for restoring its flagging soft power. Along the same lines, a 2005 U.S. State Department report described cultural diplomacy as a “lynchpin of public diplomacy” that “helps create a ‘foundation of trust’ with other peoples, which policy-makers can build on to reach political, economic and military agreements.”
Despite this, Canada eliminated the minuscule budget for Global Affairs’ little cultural diplomacy program in the 2023 budget, ending the program.
We are writing as board members of the Glenn Gould Foundation, an organization focused on cultural diplomacy and promoting Canadian leadership. Both of us love Canada – one of us as a former head of Canadian government and diplomat, and the other as a working artist who grew up on the Canada-U.S. border, has worked in Canada with some of its finest filmmakers, and who still cheers for Les Canadiens de Montréal.
In September, Boston Consulting Group issued a landmark report, Opportunity for Global Arts Prizes in Canada, a 75-page study that outlined numerous benefits for Canada in hosting an internationally pre-eminent arts award, ranging from global influence, social and economic benefits, and national pride and unity gains at home.
The Glenn Gould Prize, our organization’s signature initiative, is Canada’s only global award for creative achievement, prompting laureate Philip Glass to dub it the “Nobel Prize of the Arts.” It is rooted in concepts of excellence, innovation and humanitarianism. That’s the kind of asset Canada can use to define and elevate its place in the world.
Like hosting the Olympics, being the home of globally important cultural institutions sends a message about this country, presenting Canada as a leader, a welcomer, a meeting place for the best and brightest that the world has to offer. The National Arts Centre and Toronto International Film Festival provide other notable examples, but these institutions receive sustaining funding from Canada while the Glenn Gould Prize does not.
Wrapping the national image in the legacy of great artists changes global perceptions and imparts gravitas. When it comes to diplomacy, dispute resolutions, a seat on the UN Security Council, or the sale of our technology abroad, there’s much to be said for swapping the lumberjack image to become known as a nation of geniuses, visionaries and innovators like Glenn Gould, an enduring worldwide artistic icon.
Being a world leader in the cultural domain benefits Canada’s own artists, elevating their profiles and boosting this $60-billion-a-year sector that employs more workers by far than the energy, agriculture or auto industries. It promotes our exports, enhances the value of our intellectual property, and encourages our creatives to stay and work at home, rather than leave to contribute to the GDP of other countries.
We can take a page from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland campaign, which promotes the U.K.’s brand internationally. The ambitious campaign tapped into the natural talent of the country and highlighted why it is a great place to visit, invest and trade with.
As Global Affairs Canada undertakes strategic reforms, it is time to turn Canadian culture into a competitive advantage that enhances global investment and prosperity for Canadians. Canada deserves no less.