Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences (Massey Commission)

Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences (Massey Commission)
Name	Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences
Other names	Massey Commission
Established	1949
Dissolved	1951
Chair	Vincent Massey
Jurisdiction	Canada
Report	Report of the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences (1951)

Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences (Massey Commission)

The Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences (commonly called the Massey Commission) was a Canadian royal commission convened between 1949 and 1951 to examine cultural institutions and public support for culture. Chaired by Vincent Massey, with a mandate to survey activities in literature, visual arts, performing arts, broadcasting, and heritage, it produced a landmark 1951 report that recommended federal involvement in cultural promotion, leading to the creation of national bodies and funding mechanisms.

Background and establishment

The commission was established against a backdrop of post‑Second World War reconstruction and debates involving figures such as William Lyon Mackenzie King, Louis St. Laurent, and institutions like the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Influences included international models exemplified by the British Council, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Library of Congress, as well as Canadian pressures from the Canadian Authors Association, the Canadian Federation of Artists, and provincial arts organizations. Discussions at forums including the Royal Society of Canada and cultural advocacy by individuals such as Mordecai Richler and A. J. M. Smith helped shape political awareness, prompting Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent to commission Vincent Massey to lead the inquiry.

Membership and mandate

The commission was chaired by Vincent Massey and included members drawn from diplomatic, academic, and cultural circles with ties to institutions such as Trinity College, Toronto, McGill University, and the National Film Board of Canada. Its mandate, set out in the commission letters patent, tasked members to investigate and report on the state of the arts, letters, and sciences in Canada, referencing organizations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Canadian Opera Company. The mandate invoked comparisons with international cultural policy exemplars like the Council of Europe and the UNESCO framework.

Hearings, submissions, and evidence

Public hearings were held in cities including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, and Ottawa, attracting testimony from representatives of the Canadian Authors Association, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Library Association, and the Canadian Teachers' Federation. Submissions came from figures such as Marshall McLuhan and organizations like the Canadian Film Institute, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Heart of London (civic groups and local arts councils). Evidence covered broadcasting from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and commercial broadcasters, film and the National Film Board of Canada, music and ensembles including the National Ballet of Canada and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as archives like Library and Archives Canada and heritage sites such as Fort York.

Key findings and recommendations

The commission concluded that Canada lacked coherent national support structures for culture and recommended federal measures including creation of a national arts council, expanded public broadcasting, enhanced support for museums, libraries, and archives, and development of cultural diplomacy. It proposed institutions modeled on the Canada Council for the Arts, the strengthening of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and funding mechanisms akin to grants administered by bodies like the Guggenheim Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts (as later formed). The report urged support for Canadian authors such as Hugh MacLennan and Mazo de la Roche, composers like Healey Willan, and visual artists associated with the Group of Seven and later modernists, recommending policies to sustain Canadian book publishing, film production, and museum acquisitions.

Implementation and impact

Following the report, Parliament acted to establish the Canada Council for the Arts in 1957 and to expand roles for the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Institutions such as the National Library of Canada (later amalgamated into Library and Archives Canada), enhanced museum programs at the National Gallery of Canada, and federal heritage conservation policies were influenced by the commission. Cultural diplomacy initiatives grew through organizations like the Canadian Conference of the Arts and the Department of External Affairs, resulting in exhibitions and tours involving the Royal Ontario Museum and performances by the National Ballet of Canada abroad.

Criticism and controversies

Critics argued the commission reflected elite perspectives, privileging anglophone and establishment institutions such as Trinity College, Toronto and major urban cultural bodies over regional and francophone concerns voiced by groups like the Fédération culturelle canadienne‑française. Accusations included cultural centralization that favored Ottawa and Toronto, limited attention to Indigenous cultural rights articulated by leaders such as Tommy Prince, neglect of commercial publishing interests represented by firms like McClelland & Stewart, and tensions with provincial cultural policies in Quebec. Debates arose over the balance between state patronage and artistic autonomy, raising issues similar to controversies involving the Arts Council of Great Britain and the British Film Institute.

Legacy and historical significance

The Massey Commission reshaped Canadian cultural policy, establishing principles of public subsidy, institutional infrastructure, and cultural diplomacy that influenced subsequent policy makers including Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau. Its legacy is evident in the creation and evolution of the Canada Council for the Arts, the expansion of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the institutionalization of cultural heritage through Library and Archives Canada and national museums. The commission remains a reference point in debates over cultural nationalism, bilingualism associated with the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, and cultural funding models compared to those of the United States Department of State and UNESCO.

Category:Canadian royal commissions Category:Culture of Canada Category:History of Canadian arts