TORONTO, ONTARIO—(February 26, 2026)—The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) and the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) are deeply disappointed by the Government of Nova Scotia’s decision to eliminate provincial funding for independent publishers through the cancellation of the Publishers Assistance program. With this devastating cut, support for local publishers has been reduced from $700,000 annually to zero, making Nova Scotia the only province in Canada that does not invest in its own book publishers.
The move is a shocking about-face from the Government's previously-held position that the province is "renowned for our storytellers," one they affirmed as recently as last fall with their launch of the Nova Scotia Loyal book industry pilot program. With these announced cuts, those same storytellers are now being left behind.
The publishers affected by this decision are independent, Nova Scotia–based companies that make significant contributions to the province’s economy, educational landscape, and cultural life—and to Canada’s publishing ecosystem as a whole. Collectively, these presses publish 100+ new books each year, employ local staff, contract local freelancers, work with Nova Scotian authors and illustrators, and supply books to schools, libraries, bookstores, and readers across the country.
Independent publishers are often the only ones committed to publishing local voices and regional perspectives. With this funding eliminated, fewer Nova Scotian stories will be written, published, and shared. At a time when cultural sovereignty is increasingly vital, cutting support for local publishing is a step in the wrong direction. Across Canada, publisher assistance programs strengthen the book publishing sector in order to ensure our stories, histories, and ideas are told by and for people in our communities, rather than being watered-down to suit larger, external markets.
“Independent publishers are essential cultural infrastructure,” said Alana Wilcox, President of the Association of Canadian Publishers. “When provincial support for publishing is eliminated, the impact is immediate and far-reaching—fewer books by local authors, fewer jobs, and fewer opportunities for Nova Scotian stories to reach readers. This decision weakens not only the province’s publishing sector, but Canada’s cultural landscape writ large.”
“Nova Scotia has a brilliant and singular literary tradition, one that until now was underpinned by government investment in its writing and publishing community,” said Norm Nehmetallah, the Literary Press Group’s Board Chair. “At a time when interest in buying and supporting local is at an all-time high in our country, the decision to remove a pillar of support for Nova Scotia publishers—among other arts organizations receiving cuts—is a bewildering move. It has been proven time and again across this country that investment in the arts yields real economic returns. We urge the Nova Scotia government to recognize that reality and reverse this decision.”
These cuts are part of a broader package of reductions to arts and culture funding in the province, and they will have long-term consequences for creators, cultural workers, and readers in Nova Scotia and beyond.
ACP and LPG stand with the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association and with Nova Scotian publishers, writers, and booksellers in expressing serious concern about the damage this decision will cause. We urge the Government of Nova Scotia to reverse the elimination of support to book publishers and restore the Publishing Assistance Fund of $700,000 to recognize, along with every other province, that sustained investment in local publishing is an investment in economic resilience and cultural vitality.
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The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) is the national voice of English-language Canadian-owned book publishers. ACP contributes to the development and maintenance of vibrant, competitive book publishing companies in order to support and strengthen the contribution that Canadian books make to Canada’s cultural, economic, and educational landscape.
Founded in 1975, the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) is a not-for-profit association that represents Canadian-owned and -operated literary book publishers located across the country. LPG’s members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing.
Together, ACP and LPG represent 129 independent Canadian-owned book publishers across the country.
For more information, contact:
Jack Illingworth
Executive Director, ACP
jack_illingworth@canbook.org
