Mission, Vision, Goals, History

CCNC exists to connect and educate Canada’s culture workers and share a collaborative working environment so we can be more effective in the cultural development of our communities. By sharing experience, expertise, information, and best practices, members support each other through dialogue, both in person and online.

Mission

The Creative City Network of Canada connects and supports cultural leaders, celebrates cultural excellence, and nurtures cultural development in local communities throughout Canada.

Goals

  • To provide paths for communities, large and small, to access each other’s experiences and expertise.
  • To develop tools and resources for the community of practice in community development across Canada.

Through its work, the Creative City Network of Canada helps build the capacity of local cultural planning professionals—and by extension, local governments—to nurture and support cultural development in their communities. By doing so, CCNC aims to improve the operating climate and conditions of artists, arts, heritage, and cultural organizations across the country, as well as the quality of life in Canadian communities of all sizes.

Vision

Culture is a core pillar of sustainability, facilitating positive change through creativity and innovation, and creating healthy, vibrant, and engaging communities in Canada.

Values

  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Innovation
  • Advocacy
  • Inclusiveness
  • Respect
  • Excellence 

“CCNC has been foundational for me in 15 years of municipal cultural management. There is always someone in the network who is ahead of what we’re doing so I can pick their brain and borrow their documents…It’s the perfect network of cross-country colleagues!”

— Rebecca Cann, former Cultural Services Supervisor
City of St. Catharines

How can my municipality benefit from joining the Creative City Network of Canada?

History

While municipal cultural services had been growing in profile since the early 1970s, there was a broadened understanding of culture as a core service in municipalities at the turn of the century.

The Creative City Network of Canada (CCNC) was established to address the need to provide support for professionals in the field by tapping into the expertise of peer municipalities across the country. The Network fostered a virtual and physical connection of individuals working in the field through digital tools, annual conferences, and the development of new and much needed research and toolkits. This could not have happened without the work of Burke Taylor and Nancy Duxbury (honorary members of the Network), support from municipalities across Canada, and the financial support of the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, Bronfman Foundation, and the Department of Canadian Heritage. 

In 2002, CCNC established itself as a not-for-profit, hired office staff, and set up an office in downtown Vancouver. CCNC continued to take on research projects, formalized its municipal membership structure, and began to receive annual project funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the BC Arts Council. In 2014, membership categories expanded to include arts and culture organizations as well as individual consultants, artists, and students of cultural policy to join. In 2021, CCNC reestablished its headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario with staff and board based across Canada. 

Today, CCNC’s network of culture workers directly serve approximately 16 million Canadians through the production of: