Professional Artists by Region of Manitoba

Canada-wide data

Across Canada, there are 202,900 professional artists, representing 1.0% of the Canadian labour force. Examined differently, this means that 1 in every 102 Canadian workers is an artist. (A full article on Canadian artists is available here.)

A similar analysis examines workers in arts leadership occupations in Canada, There are more than 56,000 Canadian workers in five occupation groups, including producers, directors, choreographers, conductors, composers, curators, conservators, and arts and heritage managers. Two of the arts leadership occupations (conductors / composers and producers / directors / choreographers) are also included as artists. As such, the number of arts leadership workers should not be added to the number of artists.

The broadest analysis relates to the 914,000 workers in arts, culture, and heritage occupations, representing 4.4% of all Canadian workers. The 52 occupation groups in this category include the 10 artist occupation groups as well as the 5 arts leadership occupation groups, other cultural occupations (e.g., graphic designers, print operators, editors, translators, architects, and professionals in fundraising, advertising, marketing, and public relations), and heritage occupations (e.g., librarians, curators, and archivists).

Over 5,000 professional artists in Manitoba

According to census data, there are 5,200 professional artists in Manitoba, representing 2.6% of Canada’s artists. Within the province, artists account for 0.7% of all 727,100 workers, a percentage that is below the national average of 1.0%. In Manitoba, 1 in every 140 workers is an artist.

Low incomes for the province’s professional artists in 2020

The financial analysis in this article focuses on median incomes, which are believed to provide a better indication of the typical situation of professional artists than the average (i.e., the “mean”), a statistic that is more strongly affected by a few individuals with very high incomes. It should be kept in mind that the income statistics from the 2021 census relate to the 2020 calendar year, which included many pandemic related lockdowns and significant slowdowns in artistic activity.

Three measurements of artists’ incomes are provided: median employment income, median personal income, and median household income. Employment income shows the work-related earnings of artists; personal income includes all sources of income (including pandemic supports); and household income provides a measure of the family situation of artists.

In 2020, a year with many pandemic-related slowdowns in artistic activity, the median employment income of Manitoba artists was barely over $10,000, which is about one-quarter of the median employment income of all Manitoba workers.

The income statistics indicate that Manitoba’s artists operate at a significant disadvantage to other workers in the province:

The median employment income of Manitoba artists was just $10,100 in 2020, which is about one-quarter of the median employment income of all Manitoba workers ($38,400). The median employment income of artists in the province was lower than the median of all Canadian artists in 2020 ($11,700).
The median personal income of artists (from all sources) was $27,000 in 2020, which is 42% lower than that of all Manitoba workers ($46,400) and 11% lower than the median for all Canadian artists ($30,200). In comparison, the difference between all Manitoba workers and all Canadian workers is just 6%. The graph below highlights the differences in median personal incomes.
On a household level, the median income of Manitoba artists was $87,000, 22% lower than that of all workers in the province ($111,000) and slightly below the median of all Canadian artists ($93,000).