Sports is big business in this province. And so is culture.
You probably don’t have to go far to find someone who will tell you that, given our population, this province seems to punch above its weight class in the world of sports. On a per capita basis, that is a slight overstatement. We actually are just a bit under the national average in terms of the contribution sports makes to the economy.
From governance to participation, sports – whether organized of informal – contribute about $250 million to our provincial GDP. That accounts for about two-tenths of one percent of our overall economy which is roughly equal to the national figure of three-tenths of a point.
But this stat may be surprising… for every dollar we generate in sports, the cultural industries and activities generate four dollars or one full percentage point of the GDP. This sector is much broader though, including everything from making movies to broadcasting, publishing and architecture.
But this sector has plenty of room to grow as we have Canada’s smallest cultural sector when measured as a percentage of our GDP.
