Department of Canadian Heritage

The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (French: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity and values, cultural development, and heritage."
The department is administered by the Deputy Minister, currently Isabelle Mondou, who is appointed by the Governor in Council, and it reports directly to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is currently Steven Guilbeault.
Under its current mandate, the jurisdiction of Canadian Heritage encompasses, but is not limited to, jurisdiction over: the promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms and related values; multiculturalism; the arts; cultural heritage and industries, including performing arts, visual and audio-visual arts, publishing, sound recording, film, video, and literature; national battlefields; the encouragement, promotion, and development of sport; the advancement of official bilingualism; state ceremonial and Canadian symbols; broadcasting, except in regards to spectrum management and the technical aspects of broadcasting; the development of cultural policy, including such policy as it relates to foreign investment and copyright; the conservation, exportation and importation of cultural property; the organization, sponsorship, and promotion of public activities and events, in the National Capital Region, that will "enrich the cultural and social fabric of Canada;" and national museums, archives and libraries.
To fulfill these tasks, the department coordinates a portfolio of several agencies and corporations that operate in a similar area of interest. While the roles and responsibilities of Canadian Heritage have remained relatively constant over the years, the department and composition of its portfolio remain in flux due to continuing structural changes.
Founded on 25 June 1993, the Department of Canadian Heritage was initially created by Kim Campbell from parts of several other federal departments, combining responsibility for official languages, arts and culture, broadcasting, parks, and historic sites, as well as programs in the areas of multiculturalism, citizenship, state ceremonial, amateur sport and the National Capital Commission. In 1994, the Department of Canadian Heritage inherited Parks Canada from Environment Canada, as well as activities that formerly belonged to the Departments of Communications, of Multiculturalism and Citizenship, and of Fitness and Amateur Sport, and the Secretary of State. Since then, Canadian Heritage has gone through several structural and portfolio changes.
In 2003, Canadian Heritage added the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSRB) to its portfolio, while Parks Canada was returned to the jurisdiction of Environment Canada. Eleven years later, in 2014, the PSRB was removed from the portfolio upon the enactment of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board Act, which established the PSRB as a quasi-judicial tribunal that operates at arm's length from the government.
In late 2008, the multiculturalism section of Canadian Heritage was transferred to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, then transferred back again in November, 2015.
In 2018, the Status of Women secretariat moved out from the umbrella of Canadian Heritage to become its own department.
In 2020, Canadian Heritage introduced established the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat as part of its national Anti-Racism Strategy.
The Department of Canadian Heritage is headquartered in the Jules Léger Building (South) (French: Édifice Jules Léger (Sud)) in Terrasses de la Chaudière, Gatineau, Quebec, across the Ottawa River from the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
The department is an umbrella organization that has one of the largest portfolios in the Canadian federal government, and the organizations in the portfolio support the department in the pursuit of its priorities while also striving to achieve their individual mandates.
The departmental framework (as of 2019–20) is:
In addition to coordinating with the organizations in its portfolio, the department also partners with provincial and territorial governments to organize and oversee visits from the King of Canada and other members of the royal family.
Canadian Heritage is administered by the Deputy Minister, currently Hélène Laurendeau, who is appointed by the Governor in Council. The Deputy Minister is accompanied by an Associate Deputy Minister (currently Isabelle Mondou) and a Deputy Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth and Senior Associate Deputy Minister (currently Gina Wilson).
Activities at the department are overseen by several senior officials, and reports directly to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is currently Steven Guilbeault. Activities related to official languages report to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, currently held by Mélanie Joly; and diversity, inclusion and youth activities report to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, who is currently Bardish Chagger.
The department is divided into five different areas that each have their own Assistant Deputy Minister:
All organizations of the Canadian Heritage portfolio report to Parliament through the same Minister. As of January 2021, the portfolio consists of:
The following statutes are administered, in whole or in part, by the portfolio of Canadian Heritage:
In 2020, the department had a budget of CA$3.89 billion—this is an increase from the $3.66 billion of the previous year, but a minimal decrease from the $3.9 billion budget of 2018.
In the 2019‒20 fiscal year, the total actual spending of Canadian Heritage amounted to $1.55 billion and its total actual full-time equivalents were 1,843.3.
Through its Multiculturalism Programs, in 2019‒20, Canadian Heritage allocated more than $30 million of funding for 116 projects, 372 events, 56 "Community Support for Black Canadian Youth" initiatives, a "National Anti-Black Racism Education and Awareness" campaign, and 77 "Community Capacity Building" initiatives.
In 2019‒20, through its Creative Export Strategy (which is in its 2nd year), Canadian Heritage invested almost $7.2 million in 23 "export-ready projects" to support creative entrepreneurs in maximizing their export in the global marketplace. Launched in 2019–20 was the "Local Journalism Initiative" with an investment of $50 million over five years, supporting the creation of original civic journalism that covers the multidimensional needs of underserved communities across the country. Partnering with TV5Monde public broadcasters, the Canadian government supported the creation of a French-language digital platform with an investment of $14.6 million over five years, beginning in 2019–20.
In 2019–20, the Celebration and Commemoration Program funded 207 National Indigenous Peoples Day events across Canada, and provided $1.3 million in funding to the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) to organize and host the 2019 APTN Indigenous Day Live in Calgary, AB, Whitehorse, YT, and Winnipeg, MB. (APTN is headquartered in Winnipeg.)
In June 2019, the Department's Legacy Fund supported the centennial anniversary of the Winnipeg general strike, funding a major monument across from Winnipeg's City Hall in the shape of a tipped streetcar, a reference to 21 June 1919, or 'Bloody Saturday'.
Canadian Heritage gives out roughly $1.2 billion in grants annually, available for programs that contribute to the objectives of the department. These departmental objectives include those that relate to supporting culture, history, heritage, sport and Canada's official languages.
In 2019, it was reported that Canadian Heritage provided over $130,000 in public grant money to organizations with ties to the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which published ads critical of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
The department requires that application forms be submitted by the deadlines that are specified under the application guidelines of the particular funding program in order to be considered for financial support. A confirmation notice is sent by the department within two weeks of getting an application, and a decision on whether funding will be granted or not is made within thirteen to thirty weeks, depending on the funding program. The first payment is made on or before the fourth week after the Department of Canadian Heritage has sent out a written notice that an application has been approved.
In February 2020, the joint Human Rights Program submitted a report to the United Nations, Canada's Interim Report under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, coordinating input between the federal government and provincial and territorial governments.
Also in 2020, Canadian Heritage introduced the national Anti-Racism Strategy, which includes the Anti-Racism Action Program, several new measures, and funding for hundreds of projects to "foster diversity and inclusion across the country." The department established the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat as part of this strategy. Canadian Heritage was additionally given a new mandate to host and support the activities of two secretariats: the LGBTQ2 Secretariat, which promotes the societal contributions of LGBTQ2 communities and "ensures that [their] rights are protected;" and the Youth Secretariat, whose activities include "coordinating meetings of the Prime Minister's Youth Council and recruiting the next cohort of young people for the Council."
In 2019, among the various celebrations supported by Canadian Heritage was the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Also that year, Sport Canada supported the development of the "Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport." While the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo were postponed (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Canadian Heritage remained committed to Canadian athletes, high-performance athletes in particular.