The Canadian art market may not make daily headlines like the tech or finance sectors, but it’s a vibrant, evolving space filled with innovation, philanthropy, and fresh opportunities. Ontario has become one of the world’s leading centres for film and television production, hosting nearly 400 projects each year. In 2024 alone, the sector generated roughly $2.6 billion in economic activity and supported around 35,000 jobs across the province.
The Industry at a Glance:
- In 2023, Canada’s broader culture sector contributed $63.2 billion to GDP, with visual and applied arts alone rising by approximately 5.2%, a significant driver of cultural economic growth.
- Nearly 914,000 Canadians work in the arts, culture, and heritage sector, about 4.4% of the labour force.
- Professional artists make up 202,900, or around 1%, of all workers.
- In 2021, the industry provided nearly 50,000 jobs across different sectors like photography, crafts, and art reproduction.
To learn more, we sat down with two women who are on the frontlines of this cultural ecosystem: Mackenzie Sinclair, Executive Director of the Art Dealers Association of Canada (ADAC), and Gabby Marcuzzi Herie, Manager of Appraisal Services at ADAC.
The conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity and flow.
Q: Tell us a little about ADAC.
Mackenzie:
The ADAC is a non-profit trade organization that’s made up of over 65 commercial galleries across the country. We work with these galleries for advocacy with the government and supplying benefits, business benefits, and advocacy in terms of spreading the word about galleries, championing Canadian art on both a national and international level and working with other cultural organizations to just strengthen the Canadian art scene.
There are over 60 art galleries and museums in Toronto.
An approximation of art by province in Canada.
Q: What about the Canadian art scene has really been exciting you lately?
Gabby:
Oh, my gosh. That’s a really good question. I think that even since I’ve been in my position, about two years, it’s really cool to see how many people are getting into the arts. We’ve met so many incredible young artists who have started working with our members that we saw, you know, at an emerging artist fair, and then the next year we see them having a solo show at a member gallery that’s been around for 60 years. So it’s super exciting, I think, to see people like the younger generation coming up like that.
Mackenzie:
And seeing, there’s a level of philanthropy that we’re seeing in the sphere. So the National Gallery was just endowed with [one of] its largest ever donations, 23 million, I believe it was… It’s an incredible donation… because we have people who are doing private collecting, holding onto those collections for years. And then, once they’re… not finished with them, but it’s time to let go, they donate them for the public to see. So incredible works that otherwise would never have been able to be seen are being donated to these public institutions.
Q: From a collector's side, what kind of tech is out there that startups need to know about when entering the North American market?
Mackenzie:
There isn’t [much tech]. There’s a gap… for what I would say is just like entry-level collectors, people who may not know where to go… the art market can be a little bit daunting, or a little bit hard to penetrate, if you’re not fully in it… So just opening those doors and making it a little bit more of a welcoming and community-oriented space is something that we’re seeing more of. But there could be more of that, I think.
Gabby:
So many collectors, especially young collectors, find artists and galleries through Instagram and TikTok. So, I think on the collector side, you don’t necessarily need to sign up for a paid platform. You can also find amazing artists through social media.
Q: You met with a startup today at TBDC. Talk to us a little bit about what you saw.
Mackenzie:
Especially in the current climate that we’re in, the collaboration between Europe, Canada […] there’s a really great synergy to that collaboration aspect and sharing knowledge… that was really exciting to speak with the startup about what her knowledge was, what our knowledge was, and that kind of cross-reference and what we could learn from her as well…
Gabby:
And making information available to collectors and to people who are looking to learn more about artworks that maybe want to collect or that they already own, I think, is really great… to hear about someone who’s developing sort of an algorithm that is going to bring all of that together is really exciting as well.
Q: Where can people go to see really good Canadian art?
Mackenzie:
You can actually hit up our website, which is www.adac.ca and explore over 65 Canadian commercial galleries… And you can plan out routes via www.canadianarthop.ca, which is personalized routes for cities, which is super cool.
Gabby:
The Canadian Art Hop incorporates public institutions as well as artist-run centers… It’s a really cool cornucopia of art spaces.
An Untapped Market
The conversation with Mackenzie Sinclair and Gabby Marcuzzi Herie makes one thing clear: Canada’s art market is thriving. From grassroots artist-run centres to multimillion-dollar museum donations, Canadian art offers both local vibrancy and global relevance. For international founders, collectors, and creators alike, Canada is an ecosystem worth watching. Or as Mackenzie put it best:
“We’re an untapped space. We have people here who are hungry, gritty, and passionate, and it doesn’t matter what space you’re in, you’ll find Canadian entrepreneurs, investors, and supporters who really want to support our country and the businesses that thrive here. And we’re really friendly.”
