The 45^th Conference of the French Association of Canadian Studies (AFEC) will be held from June 8-11, 2022 at the Canadian Embassy in Paris and the Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Academics, independent researchers and members of civil society from North America and Europe, specializing in Canada’s cultural history and diplomacy as well as Canadian arts and cultural industries will meet and discuss the evolution of Canada’s cultural scene, as well as Canada’s cultural policies and soft power since the publication of the famous Massey Report seventy years ago. The schedule of events includes panel sessions for individual papers as well as two round-tables and three keynote addresses. The conference will allow presenters to deliver their papers online, but the conference itself will be hosted both at the Canadian Embassy on June 8^th and June 10^th and the Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on June 9^th. Registration is compulsory to attend the event.

 “70 Years after the ‘Massey Report:’ an Assessment of Culture and Cultural Policies in Canada.”

Seventy years ago, the Report of the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences 1949-1951, headed by Vincent Massey, was published. Defined fifty years later as “the most important official document in the history of Canadian culture” (Fulford, 2001), the so-called ‘Massey Report’ was both the first investigation of the state of the arts and culture as well as cultural policies in Canada, and the first major plea in favor of a strategic and financial support from the federal government for culture and cultural institutions across the country.

The objectives of the conference will be to take both a retrospective and prospective look at the state of culture and cultural policies in Canada. This will contribute to assessing the state of knowledge on the following topics, among others:

-      the contents and significance of the ‘Massey Report’ as well as its impact on the subsequent redefinition of objectives and priorities in cultural policy-making as exemplified in, for example, the Reports of the Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee (commonly known as the Applebaum-Hébert Reports) of 1981 and 1982 or, more recently, Justin Trudeau government’s initiative to promote The Creative Canada Strategic Framework (2017)

-      the history and role of cultural and heritage institutions in Canada before and after the ‘Massey Report,’ but also the history and role of private foundations, corporate sponsorship and voluntary associations in culture and the arts in Canada

-      the evolution of public policies in the cultural field at the federal level, but also at the provincial level (intensified in particular by the Mulroney government in the 1980s) and at the municipal level (with the creation of Arts Councils in major Canadian cities, Public Art programs, etc.), with special attention to the impact of globalization on all of these public policies and that of the global COVID-19 pandemic since spring 2020

-      the evolution of the condition of artists and creators in Canada, the impact of public policies on their agency and the role of defense associations like CARFAC (founded in 1968)

-      the development of indigenous arts and culture, as well as indigenous cultural institutions

-      the impact of free trade agreements on cultural public policies in Canada, a question which goes far beyond the risk of subjugation to the American cultural giant decried by the ‘Massey Report,’ and which will shed light on Canada’s leading role in championing “cultural exemption,” especially since the Montreal Declaration of 2005

-      Canada’s role in the definition and practice of cultural diplomacy (soft power), particularly at a time when, just as the ‘Massey Report’ voiced concern about the totalitarian threat and argued in favor of defending the democratic ideal through culture, the world’s democracies are facing multiple attacks.

Sandrine Ferré-Rode (CHCSC, Université de Versailles - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) with support from Françoise Le Jeune (AFEC), Ambassade du Canada, Laurence Cros (LARCA UMR 8225, Université de Paris) and Hélène Harter (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UMR SIRICE).