Letter from the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance on behalf of Regina’s Arts, Culture, and Community Organizations
December 11, 2025
To Mayor Chad Bachynski and Regina City Council,
We begin by expressing our gratitude to the City of Regina for its investment in the organizations funded through the Community Investments Grant Program. We do not take this support for granted. CIGP funding has helped our sector deliver vital programs, build partnerships, support residents, and create spaces that strengthen community life.
As partners in this work, we are accountable to the people of Regina. We welcome every opportunity to communicate our collective impact, the reach of our programs, and the value we bring to the city. Together, we serve tens of thousands of residents each year. As a sector, we are underfunded, yet we continue to deliver high-value social and economic benefits for Regina. These include:
These outcomes are deeply meaningful to residents. National data shows that seventy-five percent of Canadians believe that arts and cultural experiences strengthen their sense of belonging. The people of Regina have shown this to be true. Across the city, community members are voicing their support, expressing how much these programs contribute to their lives, their neighbourhoods, and their well-being.
Despite our responsibility to deliver these benefits, our sector continues to operate without adequate resources. The CIGP has not increased since 2012, while demand for programs and the cost of delivering them have risen significantly. Current funding levels are already insufficient. Cuts at this moment would make it impossible for organizations to meet community needs and would undo years of partnership, progress, and public trust.
Investing in culture aligns directly with the City of Regina’s own Strategic Plan and Cultural Plan. The Strategic Plan identifies Vibrancy as a core priority and calls for inclusive spaces and programs that support culture, recreation, and wellbeing. It also commits the City to explore increased funding for CIGP. Regina’s Cultural Plan highlights the importance of participation, creative spaces, community identity, and municipality-led leadership. Cutting CIGP contradicts these strategic commitments and jeopardizes outcomes that the City itself has identified as essential to a thriving future.
Through the Strategic Plan, the City also commits to strengthening public safety through partnerships with community-based organizations and to building a lively, inviting city centre. These goals cannot be met if the core municipal funding that makes these programs possible is removed.
The Strategic Plan also identifies a need to “explore increased funding for the Community Investments Grant Program,” further confirming that growth, not reduction, is the direction Council committed to.
The Cultural Plan outlines the importance of cultural participation, creative spaces, community identity, and municipal leadership. City-supported programs and spaces are essential to achieving these outcomes. Cutting the CIGP contradicts the City’s stated goals for cultural vitality, inclusion, and innovation.
The economic case is clear and well supported
The arts and culture sector is not a cost. It is a generator of economic value, social well-being, and community resilience.
According to the 2025 ArtWorks: The Economic and Social Dividends from Canada’s Arts and Culture Sector, report:
In Saskatchewan, municipal investment accounts for more than 20 percent of the total revenue that supports arts organizations. It is the third largest source of support, surpassed only by federal investment and the private sector. Cuts at the municipal level would remove a cornerstone of the entire funding system.
Municipal dollars leverage provincial and federal dollars. For many organizations, CIGP support is what makes them eligible for federal programs, including Canadian Heritage festival grants that require confirmation of municipal investment. Cuts at the municipal level do not operate in isolation. They result in exponential losses of external funding, reducing opportunities for residents and weakening economic activity city-wide.
A thriving cultural sector attracts workers, supports tourism, enhances safety and connection, and helps retain young people who want to live in a city with creativity and heart.
Arts and culture reach into every neighbourhood. CIGP-funded organizations offer low-cost programs for youth and seniors, cultural programming for Indigenous and newcomer communities, festivals that bring people together, and spaces where people learn new skills, build confidence, heal, and grow.
These programs rely on stable municipal investment. Cuts would place the most pressure on organizations serving equity-seeking and low-income communities. When culture is weakened, a city loses more than events. It loses connection, resilience, and the sense of belonging that keeps people rooted.
Residents are speaking up
Across Regina, residents have responded strongly to recent news about the proposed cuts. People are sharing their concerns publicly and discussing how these changes would affect their families, neighbourhoods, and sense of belonging in the city. The depth of this reaction reflects how meaningful cultural programs and community spaces are in people’s daily lives.
A path forward
We urge Council to:
An investment in culture is an investment in Regina's well-being, economic strength, and long-term health.
We stand ready to work collaboratively with Council and Administration to strengthen the city we all care about.
Signed,
Signatories last updated December 12, 2025, 6:00 pm.
If your organization wishes to sign this joint letter, please email director@saskartsalliance.ca