Canadian municipalities are always hunting for economic growth. As the impact of the recent federal budget sinks in, it is obvious that strengthening local prosperity, increasing the job market, and improving productivity are key goals for our towns and cities.

New business opportunities are always welcome. AI? Exciting possibilities.

New trade categories for resources or manufacturing? Certainly.

Increased entrepreneurship, particularly for younger people? Absolutely.

Tying cities to the fast-track growth of—WHAT?? The arts and culture sector? Cannot be.

It is. A recent report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce found that Canada's arts and culture community is growing twice as fast as Canada's economy. That means beating such popular sectors as manufacturing, oil and gas, and retail.

The report found that for every $1 the federal government invests in the arts and cultural sector, $29 in economic activity is generated. That is a phenomenal return on investment.

The sector contributed $65 billion to the Canadian economy last year.

Local governments should be heeding this clear economic success story. If you want local prosperity, invest in your local arts and cultural sector. That means increasing investment in your local music scene, theatre, performing arts, and the entire gamut of the entertainment industry.

Too often local councils have seen this sector as the place to begin snipping to save a few tax dollars at budget time. They proclaim the arts are only for the elite, or some such nonsense. This new report clearly shows the opposite is the smart decision by municipal leaders—increase investments.

The arts and culture sectors have always been adept at squeezing every possible drop out of the dollars they receive. Remember the formula: invest $1, get a $29 economic return.

In this time of turmoil and being attacked by the President of the United States, there is also a feeling among many Canadians that not just our sovereignty but also our Canadian identity is threatened.

A vibrant local arts and culture community helps to maintain and celebrate our local and national identities. From a toe-tapping Newfoundland kitchen party to a prairie art exhibition, from the latest big-voiced Quebec chanteuse to Japanese tourists being awed by the Aurora Borealis in the Yukon, from world-class theatre in Toronto to a lobster supper in PEI hosted by a world-renowned chef, Canada's arts and culture sector, writ large, is one of the key threads that keeps our national spirit burning brightly.

All orders of government should be rethinking their investments in the arts and culture sectors. Those dollars are most meaningful in local communities. Economic growth will follow.

A return of 29:1; Warren Buffett would be envious.