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October 21, 2025TRADE IN CULTURE AND SPORT 2023 In 2023 Nova Scotia imported $603.23 per capita worth of cultural products (such as art, films, music, crafts and broadcasting) and exported $198.57 per capita.
On average, Canada imported $894.45 per capita worth of cultural products and exported $675.96 per capita.
Imports of culture products were greater than exports for all provinces except British Columbia.
Ontario reported the highest cultural exports and imports per capita. Prince Edward Island reported the lowest cultural imports per capita while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest cultural exports per capita.
Nova Scotia imported $45.30 per capita of sport products in 2023, including professional sports and informal sporting events along with education and training. There were $45.58 per capita in sport exports. Nova Scotia exports and imports of sport products were both below their respective national averages.
Exports and imports of sport products were highest in British Columbia. Newfoundland and Labrador had the least amount of sport exports and imports per capita in 2023.
Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and British Columbia were the only net exporters of sport products in 2023.
Cultural products accounted for 1.97% of Nova Scotia's international exports and 3.43% of Nova Scotia's international imports. Both Nova Scotia's cultural exports and imports as a share of total exports and imports were lower than their respective national averages.
British Columbia reported the largest cultural exports and imports as a share of the province's international trade. Culture exports made the lowest contributions to overall exports in Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan. Cultural imports were the lowest share of imports in New Brunswick.
In 2023 Nova Scotia had international sport exports that amounted to 0.45% of total exports - the second highest share in Canada behind British Columbia. Nova Scotia's imports of sport products amounted to 0.26% of total imports. British Columbia's sports imports were the highest as a share of total imports while New Brunswick's were the lowest.
Since 2010, Nova Scotia's exports of cultural products have fallen below imports in every year. This trend continued in 2023 with the cultural trade deficit widening for the fourth consecutive year.
Prior to 2020, Nova Scotia's trade in sport products reflected rising exports and declining imports, narrowing the deficit of trade in sport products until there was a small surplus in 2019. In 2020 both imports and exports of sport products contracted - but the contraction was sharper for imports, leaving Nova Scotia with a trade surplus in sport products from 2020 to 2023. While Nova Scotia maintained a trade surplus in 2023, imports grew faster than exports, substantially narrowing the surplus.
Nova Scotia's largest cultural and sport exports were: education/training (for sport), film and video, and design.
Nova Scotia's largest imports of culture products were in crafts, broadcasting, and books. Each of these products reported sizable trade deficits for Nova Scotia.
Film/video and education/training (for sport as well as for culture) were the only culture and sport products for which Nova Scotia reported a substantial trade surplus.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 12-10-0117-01 International trade of culture and sport products, by domain and sub-domain, and trading partner (x 1,000,000) Table 12-10-0116-01 International and inter-provincial trade of culture and sport products, by domain and sub-domain, provinces and territories (x 1,000,000)
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