COPE on the arts: a Cultural Land Trust, inflation-linked grants, an empty business tax
COPE would protect artist spaces through a Cultural Land Trust, raise operating grants for the arts and tie them to inflation, end the crackdown on DIY arts venues and tax empty commercial and industrial spaces, with a program to use them for art and performance.
FIGHT FOR VANCOUVER · PAGE 24
Keep the Arts in Vancouver: what the Fight for Vancouver says
COPE's platform says Vancouver has the highest number of artists per person of any major city in Canada, and that arts funding has risen by less than inflation. The arts chapter aims to keep artists and venues in the city. Its first step is a Cultural Land Trust, which would hold space for the arts so it is not lost to rising land prices.
COPE would write a Vancouver Arts and Cultural Spaces Strategy that uses city land for galleries, venues, theatres and rehearsal spaces, and would encourage performances in empty commercial spaces. An empty business tax on industrial and commercial spaces would come with a program to turn vacant units into places for art. A new Creative City Navigator would help arts groups, festivals and venues deal with the city.
On funding, the party would raise operating grants for the arts and then tie them to inflation, and look at an arts endowment or a dedicated tax for steady funding. It would end the crackdown on DIY arts venues, support street performers and free festivals, and offer free access to museums and galleries through the library or the Leisure Access Pass. Council funds cultural grants and licenses venues and events, but a new type of tax would need powers from the Province.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
GDP the platform says BC's cultural sector generated in 2024
The party's figure, page 24Jobs the platform says BC's cultural sector supported in 2024
The party's figure, page 249 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
A Cultural Land Trust
COPE would reduce speculative pressure on artist spaces and protect Vancouver's arts through a Cultural Land Trust.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council controls city-owned land and can fund a trust through its budget.
A Vancouver Arts and Cultural Spaces Strategy
The party would create a strategy that uses city-owned land for galleries, venues, theatres and rehearsal spaces, and encourages the use of vacant commercial spaces for performance and art.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides how city-owned land is used and sets zoning for commercial space.
A Vancouver Arts, Culture, and Creative City Navigator
COPE would create a Navigator to support arts organizations, festivals and venues and help the city meet its arts and culture goals.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides which city positions and services exist.
Raise arts operating grants and tie them to inflation
The party would boost operating grants for Vancouver's arts sector, then tie them to inflation. It would also look at a municipal arts endowment or a dedicated tax revenue stream for long-term stability.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets cultural grants in the city budget. A new dedicated tax would depend on the city's powers under the Vancouver Charter, which only the Province can change.
End the crackdown on DIY arts venues
COPE would end the crackdown on DIY (do-it-yourself) arts venues and support independent, artist-run nightlife.
- Who has the power
- City Council The city licenses venues and events and enforces its own rules on them.
An empty business tax
The party would charge an empty business tax on industrial and commercial spaces, with a program to encourage use of vacant spaces for performance and art.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The platform does not say how the tax would work. Any new type of tax depends on the city's powers under the Vancouver Charter, which only the Province can change.
Art and music in public spaces
COPE would bring art and music into public spaces by adding covered bandstands, encouraging street-corner performers and supporting free and low-cost festivals.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls city streets and event permits, and the Park Board controls parks where bandstands could go.
Support museums, galleries and civic theatres
The party would support the needs of museums, galleries, civic theatres and other cultural spaces, and offer free access through the Public Library or the Leisure Access Pass.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets cultural grants in the city budget. Free passes through the library would also need the library board.
Protect the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee
COPE would protect the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and work with it to advance the arts in Vancouver.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council creates its own advisory committees and decides whether they continue.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about keep the arts in vancouver
What is COPE's Cultural Land Trust?
COPE would create a Cultural Land Trust to reduce speculative pressure on artist spaces and protect the arts in Vancouver (platform, page 24).
Would COPE increase arts funding in Vancouver?
Yes. COPE would boost operating grants for the arts and then tie them to inflation, and look at an arts endowment or a dedicated tax for long-term funding. The platform says arts funding has risen by less than inflation (platform, page 24).
What does COPE say about DIY music venues?
COPE would end the crackdown on DIY arts venues and support independent, artist-run nightlife as part of Vancouver's culture (platform, page 24).
Does COPE want an empty business tax in Vancouver?
Yes. COPE would charge an empty business tax on industrial and commercial spaces, with a program to encourage use of vacant spaces for art and performance. A new type of tax would depend on powers only the Province can give the city (platform, page 24).
Who would fund COPE's arts plan?
Council sets cultural grants in the city budget and controls city-owned land, so most of the plan is a Council decision. An endowment, a dedicated arts tax or an empty business tax would depend on the city's powers under the Vancouver Charter (platform, page 24).
ON THE BALLOT
The COPE candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · pages 24 · checked