Costs
Residency costs compared across Alberta, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada
Residency costs in Canada compared by named program: published fees at Banff, Medalta, Ross Creek, Open Studio and Gibraltar Point, the Atlantic residencies that pay artists, and the arts councils that fund stays.
What to take away
- Banff Centre charges the most. Its five-week Winter 2026 artist residency listed a total fee of $8,831.75 CAD before a $6,235 scholarship.
- Ontario fees run lower for studio-only stays. Open Studio in Toronto charges $700 plus HST for one month of printmaking, and you find your own bed.
- Atlantic Canada mixes two models. Ross Creek in Nova Scotia charges $770 a week, while Struts Gallery in New Brunswick pays its residents.
- Compare net cost per week, not the headline fee. Meals, a room and the travel home change the ranking.
- Published fees move each cycle. Use the figures below as the 2026 baseline and confirm the current call.
Residency costs by named program, 2026
The table lists what each program says it charges or pays, in Canadian dollars. Dates and fees come from each program's own pages or call text.
| Region | Program | Published cost to the artist | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Banff Centre, Leighton Artist Studio Residency, Solo 2026/27 | $3,602.55 for two weeks; $1,709.66 after scholarship, about $855 a week | Single bedroom, meal plan, studio; $65 application fee |
| Alberta | Banff Centre, Banff Artist in Residence, Winter 2026 | $8,831.75 for five weeks; $2,596.75 after scholarship, about $519 a week | Bedroom, 24/7 studio, $53 daily meal credit, seminars |
| Alberta | Medalta, Medicine Hat, one-month residency | $750 for a month; housing at the BMO Artist Lodge is $650 to $820 a month extra | 24-hour studio access, test glazes; clay and firing extra; $40 application fee |
| Ontario | Open Studio, Toronto, printmaking | $700 plus HST for one month; $400 plus HST for two weeks | 24-hour studio, consumables, locker; no housing listed |
| Ontario | Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts, Toronto Island | Thematic week for a group: $8,500 plus HST | Up to 18 bedrooms, up to 7 studios, shared kitchen |
| Nova Scotia | Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, Canning | $770 a week plus HST, about $3,080 for four weeks | Private room or cabin, 24-hour studio, all meals |
| New Brunswick | Struts Gallery, Sackville, Open Studio Residency | Artist is paid: $3,250 fee plus $750 daily allowance | Furnished apartment and studio, travel up to $800, $200 for materials |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Fogo Island Arts | Terms set in each call | Saltbox house, studio access; by invitation, partner agreement or open call |
Banff's scholarship rows show why the headline fee misleads: an artist who wins the standard scholarship pays about 29 percent of the Winter 2026 total. Banff's own pages state both numbers.
Residency cost buckets
- Getting theretravel to site
- Sleeping thereaccommodation
- Eating therefood and meal plans
- Making work therematerials and studio
- Exclusionskiln firing, paper, chemistry, shipping
- Grant timingpay first, reclaim later
Four buckets decide the budget: getting there, sleeping there, eating there, and making work there. The four cost buckets article shows which line to question first. For a direct fee comparison inside Alberta, see Banff Centre versus independent Alberta residencies.
Which region costs least
Atlantic Canada has the lowest cost to the artist, because two of its named programs pay residents. Struts Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick offers four residencies of five weeks between May and October. Its 2026 call closed on October 15, 2025, and the gallery says it normally receives more than 130 applications.
Fee-paying stays rank differently. At Ross Creek, four weeks cost about $3,080 plus HST with meals included. At Medalta, one month with lodge housing costs $1,400 to $1,570 before food, clay and firing. Banff Centre costs the most before scholarship and can be among the cheapest after it.
Ontario is the hardest region to price. Open Studio publishes a clear fee but no housing, and the Gibraltar Point Centre's figure is a group booking, so a solo artist cannot read a per-person price from it.
Rent when housing is not bundled
Open Studio lists no accommodation, so a Toronto stay adds rent. The Medalta lodge range above shows the scale for a month of housing in a small city. CMHC publishes average rents and vacancy rates by city. Start with the CMHC rental market reports.
Census data shows what sitting tenants already pay. The gap between that figure and a new lease is where short-stay artists lose money. Check the Statistics Canada census data for your city.
Using census and CMHC data
- Check CMHC rent for nearest major centre
- Compare with provincial census shelter cost
- Assume premium for short furnished leases
- Add utilities, internet and deposit
Season changes the arithmetic. Winter, wildfire season and daylight explains why shoulder weeks cost less in northern Ontario and why PEI peaks in July.
Working the numbers takes four steps.
- Pull the rental report for the city, not the province.
- Read the vacancy rate. When it is low, short-term rents run above the published average.
- Compare the census shelter-cost figure for renters with the average rent.
- Multiply monthly rent by your weeks on site, then add a summer premium on PEI and coastal Nova Scotia.
Example: four weeks at Ross Creek, priced line by line
A private studio is not the only model. This sketch uses Ross Creek's published weekly fee and clearly labeled assumptions for the rest.
Line / Amount
- Program fee, four weeks at $770
- $3,080 plus HST
- Meals and room
- Included in the fee
- Application
- Rolling; see the call
- Travel to Nova Scotia
- Assumption: $350 to $550 return flight from Toronto
- Materials and shipping
- Assumption: $250 to $600
The same month at Medalta costs $750 plus $650 to $820 for lodge housing, and you then pay for groceries, clay and firing yourself.
Deadlines, deposits and grants
Deadlines differ by program. Medalta takes applications by April 15 each year, with a second September 15 deadline for one-month and flex stays. Banff Centre sets a deadline for each program and closes at 11:59 p.m. Mountain time. Ross Creek reviews applications monthly on the 10th, according to its TransArtists listing. Struts has closed its calls in October.
Several funders can pay part of a stay. The Canada Council for the Arts accepts Artistic Creation applications any time before a project starts. Canada Council grants for first-time applicants covers the application, and artist residency grants in Canada lists more funders.
Provincial bodies are the other layer. Arts NB funds artists attending residencies through its Artist in Residence program, and individual awards in its March 2025 round ran from $1,960 to $9,700. ArtsNL lists a Professional Project Grants program, and PEI runs Create, Share and Learn streams through its arts grants office. Arts Nova Scotia, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council run individual-artist programs too.
Councils often pay after you commit, so a deposit may fall due months before a decision. Confirm amounts and dates on each council's page.
