Advocacy
“The music department is an alternate universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included and the lost become found. Music reveals the real child.” – Vaughan Fleischfresser, music educator, University of Edinburgh
Choir and ensemble singing is good for individuals and for communities, and more people need to hear about it! This page will be updated with information and resources to help you advocate to school administrators, civic leaders and other decision makers to support ensemble singing where you live.
2026 Provincial Budget in context
In their 2026-2027 budget, the Province of New Brunswick committed to an investment of “$2.8 million to help stabilize the arts and culture sector, and help boost the creative economy through new jobs, fostering innovation and delivering more access to the arts.”
This comes after a long period of decline and neglect in arts and culture support, and represents a very welcome and encouraging change.
To put this amount in context:
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In 2023-4, the New Brunswick government invested the least per capita of all the provinces in Canada on arts and culture investment
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New Brunswick: $55 per capita
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Nova Scotia: $76 per capita
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PEI: $63 per capita
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $95 per capita
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and this gap has been a persistent issue for a long time.
ArtsLink NB and associated New Brunswicks arts organizations recommended to the Province last November that an additional $6 million would be needed just to bring New Brunswick to a benchmark of $78 per capita for the Atlantic region
Taxpayer investment in arts and culture pays dividends. At the federal level, for example, “The arts and culture sector generates $29 in economic activity for every dollar in federal investment — that’s an extraordinary return in addition to the social benefits that the sector generates” according to a 2025 research report conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab.
Why It Matters
Governments are making important decisions now about priorities and investments, in a very challenging environment. Over the past year, the New Brunswick government has made a sustained effort to focus on arts and culture as an important economic driver for communities, and we in the choral community need to celebrate and encourage this improvement as a good first step that does not—yet—meet the need or bring us to comparable levels with our peers.
Governments and decision-makers pay attention to the responses they get from citizens, especially at budget time, but not only at budget time. Let your MLA, your mayor and council, and other decision-makers in your community know that you believe in building vibrant and active communities that are better places to live though supporting choir and the other arts!
We encourage you to visit these sources for more information, which the paragraphs above draw on:
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ArtsLink NB Responds to the 2026-27 Provincial Budget. ArtsLink NB
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Securing the Future of Arts and Culture in NB: An Open Letter. ArtsLink NB
Arts and Culture Sector Contributes $131 Billion to Canada’s Economy. Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Arts and Culture: Nova Scotia’s Undervalued Public Good. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Impact of the Arts. Canada Council for the Arts
9 Reasons Why Singing With Others Makes Us Healthier and Happier
Singing brings people together. Across cultures, age groups, and different walks of life, group singing is a regular feature of diverse settings, from cultural celebrations, religious gatherings and the classroom to concerts, karaoke or the campfire.
You don’t need to be a scientist to know that singing with others feels good. But research teams around the world are uncovering the multitude of ways that singing matters to our psychological, physical, spiritual, and emotional health.
Why singing is surprisingly good for your health
"From the brain to the heart, singing has been found to bring a wide range of benefits to those who do it, particularly if they do it in groups. It can draw people closer together, prime our bodies to fight off disease and even suppress pain. So might it be worth raising your own voice in good cheer?"
#BenefitsOfSinging
Focusing on why singing can and should matter to all who live in Canada, the #BenefitsOfSinging campaign highlights some of the scientific evidence for the many and varied ways that singing together contributes to our psychological, physical, spiritual, social and emotional health.
It is more than a choir campaign. It is a healthy community campaign whose goals are to:
-Share research on the benefits of singing together.
-Educate the public on the benefits of group singing.
-Provide a toolkit for choral leaders to advocate for their programs, recruit singers, build connections with decision- and policy-makers, attract donors and supporters, support grant writing, and strengthen choral communities in Canada.
-Promote the idea of group singing as a social prescription for the medical community.
#BenefitsOfSinging is a good news, proactive campaign.
More information about the campaign
SingWell
Based at Toronto Metropolitan University, SingWell brings together world-leading researchers examining the benefits of group singing, alongside partners across Canada with a role to play in activating them.
Their research network is deepening scientific understanding of the specific factors that make group singing impactful for different populations, with a special focus on people living with communication challenges.
We also share knowledge and resources to inspire and equip professionals, volunteers, policymakers and the public to participate in and help grow the practice of group singing in ways that intentionally promote wellbeing.
Eric Whitaker:
The Inside Voice
The power of music may be discovered at any age. Choral superstar Eric Whitacre always loved music, but did not read music or sing chorally until he was in university. In this short video, Whitacre recounts how an encounter with choral music in early adulthood inspired a journey of discovery and changed his life.
The Myth of the “Bad Ear”
Why do some people struggle to sing in tune? A longstanding assumption the music world is that it is linked to an inability to hear notes accurately, so-called “tone deafness.”
Dr. Sean Hutchins of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, in a post from 2021, says that, on the contrary, poor singing is much more often a matter of physical coordination, and that most people can hear pitches and tunes “just fine.” Singing, according to the evidence, is for almost everyone a learnable physical skill that improves with training and practice — especially in a group setting where a person can learn from others.
Read the full post here