Prince George city council received an update on the progress of advancing arts and culture planning by the city.
In 2024, council recognized the need for an updated, comprehensive arts and culture plan that would engage the community and further strengthen arts and culture as a vital part of the city’s identity. Work that has been undertaken this year includes a review of current city strategies and plans, consultation with other municipalities to learn from the development and outcomes of their culture plans, and public engagement – specifically a roundtable discussion that was held in November where over 40 representatives from 31 different local arts, culture, and heritage organizations participated.
The report included a number of options for council to consider on how to progress arts and culture planning for the community.
Council chose option one which uses existing city strategies (e.g., Official Community Plan 2025) and establish an Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee supported by a dedicated staff position to create a stand-alone guiding document.
The dedicated staff ask will be addressed through the 2026 budget deliberations following council’s review and conclusion regarding the heritage planner service enhancement, where staff have been asked to revise the proposed heritage planner role to incorporate responsibilities for arts and culture.