Alberta Culture and Tourism
Alberta Culture and Tourism, is a ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta. It was created on 15 September 2014 and is responsible for “Alberta’s cultural industries, tourism, the arts, heritage and nonprofit/voluntary sector” as well as sport and recreation.
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Administrative history
The culture, tourism, and recreation functions of Alberta’s government, have on several occasions in past been overseen by separate ministers, and they have also been, more than once, sections within the portfolio of the same minister. They have also each been joined to still other government departments at various points.
A separate tourism ministry goes back at least to 1968 when Allen R. Patrick was named Minister of Industry and Tourism. From 1971 to 1975, tourism as an issue was assigned to a minister without a portfolio, and there was no separate tourism department. In 1979 Tourism and Small Business became a separate ministry, renamed simply “Tourism” in 1985. In the major restructuring of 1992, Tourism was reunited with Economic Development; Parks and Recreation was added as well. This situation was mostly static for the next two decades. The ministry, from 2006 to 2014 was known as Alberta Tourism, Parks, and Recreation (TPR).
Culture and recreation were (along with youth issues) together under the prevue of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Recreation from 1971 to 1975, after which recreation moved to Alberta Recreation, Parks and Wildlife which was its own ministry from 1975 to 1992, before being merged into Tourism during the major restructuring of that year.
The Cultural Affairs Department was founded in 1975 by Order in Council 518/1975, under the authority of the Public Service Administrative Transfers Act. The minister responsible for this ministry was known as the Minister Responsible for Culture (1975–1980), Minister of Culture (1980–1987), and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism (1987–1992).[1]
Agencies which reported to the minister included the Alberta Cultural Heritage Foundation (1978–1987), Alberta Multiculturalism Commission (1987–1992), Alberta Art Foundation (1972–1991), Alberta Foundation for the Performing Arts (1978–1991), Alberta Foundation for the Literary Arts (1984–1991), Alberta Foundation for the Arts (1991–1992), Alberta Library Board (1948–1992), and Alberta Advisory Council on the Status of Women (1986–1987). During the this time the minister was responsible for implementing the following legislation: Alberta Academy Act, Alberta Art Foundation Act, Alberta Emblems Act, Alberta Foundation for the Arts Act, Alberta Heritage Day Act, Alberta Historical Resources Act, Alberta Order of Excellence Act, Alberta Women’s Bureau Act, Amusements Act (Part 3), Cultural Development Act, Cultural Foundations Act, Department of Culture Act, Department of Culture and Multiculturalism Act, Foreign Cultural Property Immunity Act, Glenbow-Alberta Institute Act, Government House Act, Libraries Act, and Registered Music Teachers’ Association Act.[1]
During the 1992 restructuring the former Department of Culture and Multiculturalism and former Department of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation were dissolved and replaced by the Ministry of Community Development. This contained all of the current components of the ministry (along with parks). From 2006 to 2008 this ministry was renamed Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture. On March 12, 2008 culture was broken out in a new ministry called Alberta Culture and Community Spirit (it was renamed simply Alberta Culture on May 8, 2012).
In 2014, Culture was reunited with Tourism (including recreation), but this time without parks.
Ministry structure
As of 2015[update] the ministry includes Travel Alberta, the tourism marketing agency of the ministry,[2] the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation, also known as Alberta Sport Connection, as a non-profit Crown corporation.,[3] the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, and Government House Foundation.[4]
Tourism regions of Travel Alberta
Travel Alberta divided the province into five tourism regions:[5]
- Canadian Badlands,
- Canadian Rockies,
- Central Alberta,
- Northern Alberta,
- Southern Alberta.