Logo
languageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButtonlanguageButton

David Miller's Vision

Toronto: A Creative City

story image

Toronto is one of the world’s most exciting and creative cities. Our city is a magnet for artists from around the globe. Our arts, cultural, film and literary festivals attract hundreds of thousands of people. And our theatres, galleries and concert halls showcase new talent and historic masterpieces all year round.

Toronto’s arts and cultural sector makes the city feel vibrant and alive with energy and creativity – round the clock, every day of the year.

What’s more important, though, is that culture and creativity are critical to Toronto’s economy. Innovative businesses and knowledge workers alike flock to cities that know how to nourish and unleash creativity.

In his first term, Mayor David Miller has championed Toronto’s cultural renaissance by:

  • Increasing Toronto’s contributions to both the major cultural institutions and the Toronto Arts Council, which funds community projects.
  • Creating a new film studio on the Portlands. This will allow Toronto to compete for the biggest Hollywood productions.
  • Establishing the Toronto Film Board and appointing a Toronto Film Commissioner who is responsible for promoting Toronto as a world film capital.
  • Initiating T.O. Live With Culture, an initiative that celebrates the best of our city’s culture by centrally promoting it to all Torontonians.
  • Launching Nuit Blanche, a sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art, which attracted 425,000 visitors this fall.

Mayor David Miller wants Toronto to be a creative city that celebrates and embraces arts and culture. He wants it to be Canada’s cultural capital and a global cultural centre.

To build on Toronto’s creativity and make it even more creative, Mayor Miller will:

  • Bring back Nuit Blanche. After seeing the incredible support of Toronto’s artists and the incredible participation of Torontonians, Mayor Miller believes this event can be even bigger and better next year.

  • Improve the public realm around Toronto’s major cultural institutions. Major institutions like the AGO, the ROM, the Royal Conservatory, and the National Ballet School are undergoing major renovations. Mayor David Miller will ensure that the space outside these institutions is as beautiful as their new buildings.

  • Build creative community hubs that will bring local artists and organizations to provide programming in Toronto’s community centres. People of all ages can benefit from Toronto’s creative sector and artists can supplement their incomes by sharing their talents with others.

  • Put creativity at the heart of Toronto’s economic development strategy. This could include:

    • Establishing a creativity convergence centre that will bring different creative enterprises together under one roof to spark innovation, cooperation, and new economic activity.
    • Advancing Toronto as a centre of design.
    • Supporting entrepreneurship skill development for creative professionals.
    • Supporting the creation of a venture capital pool for creative industries.

  • Continue the successful Live with Culture initiative that has enhanced local knowledge of Toronto’s vibrant cultural scene.

  • Continue to strengthen Toronto’s film industry. Mayor Miller will build on his previous efforts to make Toronto the most film-friendly shooting location in North America. To accomplish this he will:

    • Protect and renew the city’s film infrastructure.
    • Demand that the federal government recognize Toronto for what it is – Canada’s leading English-language centre of excellence in film and television production.
    • Insist that the provincial government level the playing field on existing tax credits.