The problem with being funny

Comedy is art. It’s time Canada recognized it.

Stand-up, sketch and improv comedians help shape Canadian culture. They write, perform, and tour original work, contribute to film, television, radio, festivals and digital media, and entertain millions of Canadians every year.

Yet, comedy is still not consistently recognized as an art form within Canada’s arts and cultural policy framework.

That means many comedians are excluded from public arts funding, professional development opportunities, labour protections and the policy decisions that shape their industry.

The Canadian Association of Stand-Up, Sketch and Improv Comedians (CASC) and Unifor’s Canadian Freelance Union (CFU), is calling on the federal government to recognize comedy as the art form and cultural sector it already is.

CASC supports Canada’s comedy industry through advocacy, career opportunities, and professional development. The organization falls under the umbrella of the CFU, which provides hundreds of freelance professionals with contract advice, grievance support, health benefits, and other services.  

Why this matters

Comedy isn’t just entertainment. It’s cultural expression, storytelling, and writing. It’s performance.

And it’s work.

Canadian comedians invest thousands of hours writing, performing, touring, and promoting original material that reflects Canadian experiences and contributes to our national identity.

Despite that, comedy remains largely invisible within Canada’s formal arts funding and cultural policy systems.

Without recognition, comedians face barriers that other artistic disciplines do not.

The problem

Comedy has become one of Canada’s most visible cultural exports.

But institutionally, it remains overlooked.

Today, comedians often experience:

• Limited access to arts funding 
• Few professional development opportunities 
• Inconsistent contracts and working conditions 
• Little representation in cultural policy 
• Unequal access to creator monetization programs 
• Barriers performing in the United States 
• Little national research into the industry’s economic impact 

Comedy is everywhere. Recognition is nowhere.

This is why CASC has been lobbying the federal government since 2018.

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CASC’s recommendations

The policy paper calls on the federal government to:

• Recognize comedy as an art form
  Recognize comedians as artists and cultural workers within Canadian arts and cultural policy.
• Expand funding
  Ensure comedians can access grants, touring support, mentorship and professional development programs available to other artistic disciplines.
• Improve working conditions
  Develop stronger labour standards, fair compensation, intellectual property protections and representation for comedians.
• Improve Canada-U.S. mobility 
  Work toward fairer opportunities for Canadian comedians performing across the border.
• Ensure fairness on digital platforms 
  Advocate for equal access to creator monetization programs and digital opportunities.
• Invest in research 
  Collect national data on Canada’s comedy sector to better inform future policy.
• Strengthen Canada’s comedy ecosystem 
  Support mentorship, touring, festivals, institutions and long-term career development.

Comedy is work

Being funny is a profession. Every set begins long before someone steps on stage.

Comedians spend years developing material, travelling between venues, producing shows, marketing themselves and building careers, often without stable income or access to the supports available to other artists.

Comedy deserves the same recognition afforded to other cultural sectors.

The policy paper

The Problem with Being Funny in Canada is the first national policy paper to examine comedy’s exclusion from Canada’s cultural policy framework. Bringing together research, industry history, and lived experience, it offers policy recommendations to advance a national conversation about recognizing comedy as an art form.

• Download “The problem with being funny in Canada” policy paper

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Download and share these graphics to support Canadian comedians fighting for comedy to be recognized as an art form by the federal government. Help spread the word that comedy is culture and deserves a place in Canada’s cultural policy.