Released: 2026-07-07
Real gross domestic product of the culture sector
First quarter 2026
0.6% 
(quarterly change)
Employment in the culture sector
687,824 jobs
First quarter 2026
-0.3% 
(quarterly change)
Real gross domestic product of the sport sector
First quarter 2026
-1.4%
(quarterly change)
Employment in the sport sector
107,100 jobs
First quarter 2026
-0.3%
(quarterly change)
Real gross domestic product (GDP) for the culture and sport sectors in Canada grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2026, slightly slower than the 0.6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. On a nominal basis, GDP for the culture and sport sectors increased 0.9% in the first quarter of 2026, following a 1.8% increase in the previous quarter.
Jobs in the culture and sport sectors declined 0.3% in both the fourth quarter of 2025 (-2,460 jobs) and the first quarter of 2026 (-2,616 jobs).
Economic impact of major sporting events felt beyond sport sector
Nominal GDP for the culture sector grew 1.3% to $17.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, after rising 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025. A significant contributor to culture GDP growth across both quarters was the broadcasting subdomain under the audio-visual and interactive media domain. The growth in broadcasting coincided with two major sporting events: the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the 2026 Winter Olympics in the first quarter of 2026. Nominal GDP for broadcasting grew by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and grew by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2026.
Nominal GDP in the sport sector fell 2.0% during the first quarter of 2026, following 4.0% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. Organized sport was the cause of this quarter-to-quarter change, increasing 12.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 during the Blue Jays’ run in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Despite an 8.6% decline in the first quarter of 2026, organized sport GDP remained above the level recorded in the third quarter of 2025. The change in real GDP was less pronounced, given the impact of higher ticket prices on the nominal measure. Real GDP growth in organized sport was 5.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by a fall of 5.0% in the first quarter of 2026.
Chart 1 
Culture and sport nominal gross domestic product (GDP), quarterly
Film and video subdomain lead fall in culture sector jobs
Total jobs in the culture sector decreased in each quarter, falling by 2,649 jobs (-0.4%) in the fourth quarter of 2025 then by 2,283 jobs (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2026. These declines were dominated by the film and video subdomain—a component of the audio-visual and interactive media domain—which shed 3,837 jobs over the two quarters. Despite the increase in real GDP in the first quarter, the broadcasting subdomain also contributed to the decline in jobs.
Despite the larger movements in sport GDP, jobs attributable to sport were less variable over the two quarters, falling 0.3% (-333 jobs) in the first quarter of 2026 after rising 0.2% (+189 jobs) in the fourth quarter of 2025. Organized sport was a main contributor to this change, with jobs decreasing 1.4% in the first quarter of 2026 after increasing 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Chart 2
Change in jobs by culture domain, first quarter of 2026
Note to readers
The National Culture Indicators are an extension of the Provincial and Territorial Culture Satellite Account and the Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators (PTCI).
Quarterly Trade in Culture and Sport indicators are available upon request.
Revisions
With this release, data for the fourth quarter of 2025 and first quarter of 2026 are being released for the first time, while estimates beginning with the first quarter of 2022 were revised. For more information, see Revisions under the PTCI.
Data
Data are available for gross domestic product (GDP) in nominal, basic prices and constant prices (2017 prices).
Data on real GDP (corrected for price changes) are provided as a means to examine economic growth within the culture and sport sectors, as well as to make comparisons with other sectors.
Unless otherwise stated, GDP in this release refers to nominal GDP, at basic prices.
Growth rates in this release are represented as the percentage change in the series from one quarter to the next unless otherwise stated.
Data have been seasonally adjusted. All data are based on the product perspective.
Information about which products are incorporated into each subdomain is available in the Canadian Culture Satellite Account methodology.
Audio-visual and interactive media and visual and applied arts
Refinements to the video game publishing and design and development industries and to the computer systems design and related services industry were introduced starting in the first quarter of 2016 to improve estimates around video game development and website design. They affect the design and interactive media subdomains of the visual and applied arts domain and the audio-visual and interactive media domain, respectively.
There is a noticeable break in the data series in the interactive media and design subdomains from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. This break does not represent a real change in economic conditions. Estimates prior to the first quarter of 2016 are on the old basis and should be used with caution.
Products
The data visualization product “National Culture Indicators: Interactive tool,” which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (Catalogue number71-607-X), is available.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (Catalogue number13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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