Four national museums in Ottawa will be sharing $15 million in additional funding.
“This is funding for their operations, and will go a long way to ensure these national museums will continue to be a source of incredible pride for all Canadians,” said Heritage Minister James Moore, who, along with Transport Minister and Ottawa West-Nepean MPP John Baird, made the announcement yesterday.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization, which has more than 3.75 million artifacts, will receive $6.3 million. The National Gallery of Canada will receive $2 million while the Canadian Museum of Nature will receive $3 million and the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation, $3.7 million.
“This $15 million in additional funding will go a very long way to ensuring that these great national institutions will be a source of pride for all Canadians for the years to come,” said Moore.
Joanne Di Cosimo, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature, said, “This additional funding is going to help us implement some elements of the strategic plan for the institution that we could not otherwise put forward because of the increased operating cost of our two facilities, and the need we’ve had to divert program funds to meet those costs.”
“The cost of doing business in museums has spiked,” said NGC director Marc Mayer. “We’re an institution that serves an entire country. It’s a large mandate, and this is going to help us improve our services to Canadians directly.”
Last year, nearly three million people from across Canada and around the world visited Canada’s four oldest national museums, boosting the tourism industry in the National Capital Region, Baird said.
