The Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), representing over 140 independent film exhibitors across Canada, urges Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s government to reverse the proposed cuts to Arts Nova Scotia and the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage in the 2026-27 budget.
The impact of arts funding is made clear every day in communities across Nova Scotia. NICE member Carbon Arc Cinema is the closest thing Halifax has had to an independent cinema in 30 years, since the closure of Wormwood’s Dog and Monkey Theatre. Operating as a pop-up out of a rented auditorium at the Museum of Natural History and run by 1.5 staff and 50 volunteers, Carbon Arc received provincial operating funding for the first time in 2024.
The effect of this funding was immediate and measurable: screening nights doubled, attendance tripled from 3,000 to 9,000, and earned revenue tripled from $30,000 to $100,000. Beyond their own operations, revenue generated for other local community organizations through Carbon Arc partnership screenings grew from a few hundred dollars to $12,000 in a single year.
The Arts Nova Scotia operating grant for Carbon Arc that made all this possible was $25,000. The return on that investment speaks for itself, and it is exactly the kind of support now at risk.
This experience is echoed across the sector. Arts, Culture and Heritage contributes $2.6 billion to Nova Scotia’s GDP and supports 22,000 jobs. For every $1 the province invests in grants, recipients generate $4.59 in other revenue.
As Canadians across the country renew their commitment to supporting homegrown arts, businesses and institutions through the Elbows Up movement, cuts to provincial arts funding sends exactly the wrong signal. Independent cinemas are among the most tangible places where that commitment lives, alongside providing enormous economic, quality of life and mental health benefits.
NICE member Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, operated by the volunteer-run Acadia Cinema Cooperative, has received notification that its operating grant will be reduced by 20% for the coming fiscal year. The theatre employs five people in a rural community of around 5,000. On March 4, 2026, over 400 people came out in Wolfville to protest the cuts, a testament to the value that Al Whittle and the arts bring to the community.
We want the arts to be part of Nova Scotia’s fiscal recovery, not a casualty of it. We urge Premier Houston to reverse these cuts and work with the sector to find a sustainable path forward.