---
title: "BC Greens Commit to $65 Million Arts Council Budget in New Platform Plank"
description: "The BC Green Party published an arts and culture platform on October 22 promising to raise the BC Arts Council budget to $65 million a year and create a dedicated small-venue licence class."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-greens-arts-culture-platform-65-million-october-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-22T23:48:03.498Z"
---

The BC Green Party published an arts and culture platform on October 22, 2026, saying it would raise the BC Arts Council budget to $65 million a year and create a new licence class for small live music venues, two days before the provincial election.

The release was published on the party's own website at bcgreens.ca. The party says the $65 million figure is more than 50 percent above the current BC Arts Council budget. Those are the party's own numbers; the party has not published a breakdown of the current budget level or how it calculated the increase.

Party leader Emily Lowan and Cowichan Valley candidate Justin Douglas made the announcement. Lowan said in the release that arts and culture are "frequently underfunded and unsupported by all levels of government." Douglas, identified as a filmmaker, said it is "time to make B.C. the easiest place in the country to create jobs, develop inspiring projects, and fuel the arts." Those are their own words as quoted in the party's release.

The platform lists four commitments. First, the $65 million BC Arts Council budget. Second, a dedicated licence class for small live music venues, with reduced fees and simpler zoning rules; the party has not said what the fee level would be. Third, faster film permit approvals across what the release calls BC's production hubs; the release does not state the current permit timelines. Fourth, legislation developed with the creative sector to address the impact of AI on creative workers; the release does not name what practices the law would cover.

The party's release says BC's arts and culture industry supports over 88,000 jobs and generates $8.3 billion in economic output. The release does not name the source for those figures, so this site cannot check them. They are the party's own figures as stated in the platform.

Lowan added that government "must move beyond a simplistic cost/benefit analysis" when funding arts and culture, given the affordability situation and what the release calls the rapid spread of AI. Those are her own words as quoted in the party's release.

Voters who want to weigh arts and culture policy before the vote can read the BC Green Party's platform at [/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party). The election is on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Emily Lowan's candidate page is at [/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/emily-lowan](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/emily-lowan) and Justin Douglas's is at [/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/justin-douglas](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/justin-douglas).

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