The Ontario government is investing over $2 million in the Stratford Festival Theatre to support good jobs, empower local artists, and help community arts organizations thrive. The Stratford Festival Theatre will receive $2,056,998 through the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. This funding is part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario by supporting workers, businesses, and communities in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty.

“Our government recognizes the important role arts and cultural organizations play in strengthening communities and growing local economies,” said MPP Rae. “This investment will help the Stratford Festival continue delivering world-class performances while supporting tourism, creating good jobs, and generating economic benefits for Stratford and Perth County.”

This grant is being awarded through the Ontario Arts Council’s Major Organizations: Contribution Agreements program. The program provides operating support to major arts organizations that are significant to their sectors and regions through their artistic activity, community role and organizational capacity. In Stratford, this funding will enable the Stratford Festival Theatre to continue presenting Shakespeare’s plays and the best of classic and contemporary theatre across their four stages along with providing arts educational programming for all ages.

"The Ontario Arts Council provides important support," said Executive Director Anita Gaffney. "This annual operating investment is directed towards mounting a season of 12 to 14 plays and enabling the Festival to bring together an accomplished team of artists and artisans to breathe life into these plays. This investment, in turn, generates prosperity for Stratford and the surrounding region with $277 million in economic impact as a result of the Festival's output."

The Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, provides grants to Ontario-based individual artists and arts professionals, ad hoc groups, collectives and organizations, supporting a range of arts activities and disciplines.

In 2025-26, OAC invested nearly $52 million in 208 communities across all 124 Ontario ridings, providing approximately 2,000 grants to individual artists and 1,000 grants to organizations.

From www.stratfordtoday.ca.