Report finds Calgary’s creative sector makes up 9.8 per cent of city businesses

Report finds Calgary’s creative sector makes up 9.8 per cent of city businesses

A 2025 update produced for Calgary Arts Development by Root Economy on the value of Calgary’s creative sector reflects a bottom-up economy that plays a foundational role in shaping Calgary’s cultural identity and economic resilience. The report provides an economic impact analysis for 2022, the most recent year data is available.

In 2022, the creative sector in Calgary:

  • Comprised 19,440 establishments, accounting for 9.8% of all businesses in the city
  • Employed 16,907 full-time equivalent roles
  • Generated $2.63 billion in direct revenue and $1.33 billion in GDP
  • Generated $1.13 billion in direct labour income

Read the full report update here.

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Our commitment to Indigenous reconciliation, racial equity, disability justice, and gender and sexual diversity.

We acknowledge that the land we gather on, Mohkinsstsis, is the ancestral territory of the Siksikaitsitapi — the Blackfoot people — comprising the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations, as well as Treaty 7 signatories, the Tsuut’ina Nation and the Îyârhe Nakoda Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nations. Today this land is home to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Districts 5 and 6 as well as many First Nations and Inuit from across Turtle Island.

We acknowledge that there has been art, music, dance, storytelling and ceremony on this land since time immemorial and it is in the spirit of this land and its people that we do our work.

Please see our full Commitment to Equity, including the sections on our aspirations, accountability, current initiatives and EDIA history.