Expert Insight: Local music scenes across Canada depend on post‑secondary music programs
The following article was written by Duncan McCallum, PhD Candidate, Musicology, Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University. It was originally published via The Conversation, April 7, 2026.
Algonquin College in Ottawa recently announced that it’s suspended its Music Industry Arts (MIA) diploma program.
Despite MIA having a robust graduate employment rate, the program was cut as of March 2026 amid broader institutional restructuring.
The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition notes the program is deeply integrated with the city’s live music, festival and events ecosystem — a local cultural scene where music attracts and retains talent across sectors, as well as contributing to the Ottawa nightlife and overall cultural vitality.
The news from Algonquin follows other closures or suspensions of post-secondary music programs in Ontario including the closure of programs both at Cambrian College and Laurentian University in Sudbury. These closures affect infrastructure that sustains local music scenes.
Music programs in Canadian colleges and universities support local musical ecosystems. Popular music studies scholars have long argued that music scenes are more than just collections of artists or venues. They are cultural spaces where contemporary musical practices interact and coexist with an area’s heritage.
As programs continue to restructure or close across the country, the impact is felt both in local music scenes and the across the Canadian music industry.
Musical ecosystems
A city’s musical identity thrives through repeated interactions among musicians, audiences and institutions — including music schools.
Research on cultural ecosystems suggests that institutional collaboration is crucial to sustain vibrant arts production. This is especially the case as music and the arts face increasing pressure from shifting funding models and post-pandemic austerity.
Colleges and universities in many smaller cities act as anchors within local music scenes. They provide performance space and access to networking within the community. Perhaps most importantly, they provide continuity through a steady influx of new student musicians each year.
Read the rest of the article via The Conversation website (by Duncan McCallum, April 7, 2026)
Expert Insight reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.
Photo: Duncan McCallum (credit: School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Western University)
