Canadians are creative, and here’s why

The disproportionate number of Canadian actors, comedians and musicians who achieve success in the United States has long been noted by commentators south of the border. And now there's proof that Canadians are more creative. According to a report released by the British organization Nesta (formerly the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts), Canada has "the largest share of creative economy employment, the largest share of workers in creative occupations, and the largest share of creative workers embedded in non-creative industries," compared to the United States and the United Kingdom. The report, "Creative Economy Employment in the US, Canada and the UK," was co-authored by Greg Spencer of U of T's Martin Institute of Prosperity. U of'T News asked Spencer about the report and its conclusions. What motivated the Nesta report? Nesta has been tracking the growth of the creative economy within the UK for many years. This was primarily an attempt to compare how this growth stacks up against other countries. There is also an important methodological component, specifically trying to sort out how we can actually make statistical comparisons between countries. This is difficult because most countries have their own statistical classification systems that are not compatible with one another. An exercise such as this report helps us understand how we can better align these systems going forward. How do you define a creative occupation or a creative industry?