This is an area that I've done a bit of research into.
The Canadian cultural industries have grown and benefitted greatly from the CRTC content rules. This is probably the most effective government action by far, but tax breaks for film production has had an enormous impact on the buidling of the industry.
Under the Liberals some years ago, there was a strategy adopted to make Canada second in the world in English and I believe French language cultural exports. Quite a challenge, but as most of the cost of production is labour(ie. generating FTEs -full time equivalents-), government investment gives us a serious bang for the buck. To my understanding, the Conservatives have not revised this strategy.
The information available is clear, there is a multiplier effect of investment in cultural industry like few others.
Now, I'm not talking about flying bananas or other such nonsense. Those are issues of oversight and if the government of the day is frustrated with the mechanisms of oversight, that's fine with me.
We can also point to the East Coast music scene, Turtle Island, The National film Board. Cirque De soliel (sp?) and numerous artists that have benefitted either directly or indirectly from government programs and cultural support.
I just don't want to see us throw out the baby with the bathwater when the strategy is a sound one.