Question Period Note: Multiculturalism Program

• Canada’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, while tackling all forms of racism and discrimination, including systemic racism, is unwavering.
• To support events and projects that help communities come together and to promote diversity and inclusion, the Government committed $23 million over two years in Budget 2018.
• Budget 2018 also allocated $9 million in funding from 2018-2021 to enhance community supports for Black Canadian Youth.
• Budget 2019 allocated $45 million over three years to support a new federal anti-racism strategy.
• To date, these investments have supported 229 project initiatives for a total of approximately $26 million. In addition, 372 community events were supported in 2019-2020 for a total of approximately $8.7 million.

• In Budget 2018, the Government announced $23 million over two years, starting in 2018-19, to increase funding for the Multiculturalism Program administered by Canadian Heritage (PCH). Grants and contributions funding is being delivered through the Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives (CSMARI) program at PCH.
• A separate initiative, Community Support for Black Canadian Youth (CSBCY), provides funding for projects addressing the unique challenges faced by Black Canadian youth, through $9 million in funding from 2018-21.
• Budget 2019 provided $45 million in funding to the Multiculturalism Program, beginning in 2019-20, for Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti Racism Strategy 2019-2022, which will aim to counter racism in its various forms, with a strong focus on community-based projects. This funding is delivered through two programs: CSMARI and the Anti-Racism Action Program (ARAP).
• In September 2018, a call for proposals was launched for CSMARI Projects and Community Capacity Building (CCB), and CSBCY. This intake closed on May 31, 2019. Between September 2018 and May 2019 the Program received 567 funding applications (241 Projects, 156 CSBCY, and 170 CCB) requesting over $113 million. Of the applications received, the Program supported 229 initiatives (96 Projects, 56 CSBCY, and 77 CCB) for a total of approximately $26 million.
• The CSMARI Events funding component has always used a continuous intake model for application. A total of 291 Events were supported in 2018-2019 for a total amount of approximately $4.7 million. A total of 372 Events were supported in 2019-2020 for a total amount of approximately $8.7 million.
• A call for proposals for ARAP was held between September 2019 and January 2020. Approximately 1110 applications were received. These applications are currently being assessed. There have been no funding decisions taken under ARAP.

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