Imagine mobilizing a generation: Creating an Arts and Culture Corps
Why do we need this?:
Young Canadians face an uncertain future. Career pathways are unclear, civic engagement is declining, and community ties are weakening. Meanwhile, our cultural organizations and communities need fresh energy, creativity, and ideas. Could an Arts & Culture Corps—a nationwide program of cultural service—energize our youth, empower communities, and strengthen Canada from coast to coast? And can the Youth Secretariat (created in 2016 to address broad youth-centred concerns) provide a stipend to offer a stronger start for our youth and country that feels better as a result?
We think so, and here's how:
The Arts and Culture Corps (ACC) would annually ask 1 million young Canadians aged 18-30 to spend 12 months engaging in meaningful cultural service across the country. Participants would be placed within cultural organizations, festivals, schools, community groups, and local projects. They would lead, create, organize, and deliver cultural programming, gaining valuable skills, mentorship, and a deeper connection to their communities. They would be paid either in cash, food or housing, or a combination of all 3 throughout their work period. Unlike existing programs like the Canada Summer Jobs, which focuses on creating employment opportunities based on employer needs, the ACC would empower young people to lead projects that respond to their vision for what their community needs right now.
Imagine more young people saying:
I organized my community’s first cultural festival.
I mentored youth in arts programming.
I helped tell my community’s story through art.
We believe this should be an essential chapter in every young Canadian’s story.
Benefits we can all get behind:
Youth Empowerment and Employment: Participants gain professional experience, building transferable skills in leadership, project management, and teamwork—preparing them for future employment in creative and other sectors.
Civic Responsibility: Young people become active, engaged citizens, tackling community issues through cultural expression and innovative projects.
Strengthened Community Bonds: Participants become community connectors, fostering pride, resilience, and social cohesion through shared cultural experiences and storytelling.
Economic and Cultural Growth: Energizing local cultural sectors creates economic opportunities and supports innovation, ensuring vibrant and thriving communities.
Connecting real world concerns to a cultural corps: ACC offers youth a place to live as a result of their work, helping offset immediate housing and food needs.
How do we make it happen?:
Partner with cultural and community organizations across the country to offer diverse, meaningful placements.
Look to existing programs like the Ontario Arts Council Creators Reserve (which partners with local arts organizations to distribute microgrants) for how to manage access to opportunities.
Prioritize inclusive recruitment and mentorship to ensure broad participation.
Implement structured training and provide support to ensure participants successfully complete their service terms.
Who pays for it?:
Department on Heritage to offer additional annual funds to those who partner on this program and Finance to offer tax incentives to citizens for housing and feeding ACC corps members throughout their service and the PMO in consultation with the Youth Secretariat to provide a direct stipend or education grants/bursaries to each youth participant in recognition of their service to the wellbeing of the country. This can and should be supplemented by private and philanthropic funding. Stipends and/or educational grants would ensure financial accessibility and encourage widespread participation.
It's about empowering young Canadians to shape the cultural and social fabric of their country. It's about giving young people a tangible role in defining Canada's future.The Arts and Cultural Corps is more than cultural service—it's an investment in our collective wellbeing, our communities, and the vibrant Canada we all want to share.
It’s about the vibes. It’s about the gap between a sense of hope and hopelessness and what we know to be true: that culture can help bridge this. The ACC will help.
David, Owais, and SGS
