The show will go on after city councillors unanimously approved an emergency grant for Regina’s Globe Theatre. The downtown hallmark came before council Wednesday, requesting $1.38 million in city funding, saying it needed the grant or it risked shutting down operations. “The issue before you today is not an operational crisis,” Globe Executive Director Oz Weaver told councillors. “It’s a capital funding issue.” A massive renovation of the downtown building, a project completed in 2025, saw final costs far exceed the originally planned budget, leaving the organization $16.3 million in debt. Weaver was adamant the emergency request is a one-time ask, and was confident the Globe will not be returning to council requesting more money. “The Globe Theatre has been around for 60 years. We’ve been in this building since the early 90s,” they said. “This is a capital infrastructure project that, once we get that overhead out from over us, our operations are sound. It is a not-for-profit charity, but our business model works. We have 60 years of proof.” The City will use money from the General Fund Reserve, which has a current balance of $21.3 million - well below the recommended minimum balance of $35.8 million. Advocates highlight community impact As they feared the worse – with council voting to not support the Globe’s request – theatre advocates highlighted strong ties to the community. “If we lose this cultural icon, if we don’t fund it, it’s not like my taxes are going down,” Economic Development Regain board member Mitch Molnar said. “People will find a way to spend that money. We have to then weigh the opportunity costs of where we place our money.” Regina’s downtown business community and supporters of the arts filled the gallery at Henry Baker Hall for Wednesday’s council meeting. The Globe touted an economic impact of $23 million. Molnar says the theatre is an important economic driver, not just for the downtown, but for the city and province. “It’s going to drag 50,000 people downtown,” he explained. “It’s going to be the economic equivalent of a Grey Cup every three years.” Zarqa Nawaz was the creator behind ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie’ when it debuted in 2007. A spinoff play of her sitcom ‘Mosque Heist’ is set to hit the round stage at the Globe later this year. “Every lasting success starts with the same way, with someone taking a chance on an original idea,” Nawaz said to councillors. “And that’s exactly what the Globe Theatre does.” “I have no idea whether [Mosque Heist] will become the next Little Mosque, nobody does. But I do know this - if we don’t invest in original Saskatchewan stories, we’ll never find out.” Globe board members say it continues to investigate all available options to raise the funds to cover their shortfall – including other government grants and fundraising. “We take this ask very seriously and we are open to all conversations,” said vice-chair Jocelyne Lang. “We are open to all opportunities that may be presented. But I think also those things take time to develop. We need time and we don’t have time right now.” Even after getting council’s approval, the Globe needs to find the rest of the nearly $15 million dollars to cover its debt. “It’s going to be a challenging ask to bring a majority of what we need without the feds,” said Lang. She adds work to garner the remaining shortfall has been ongoing for months. “The work started a significant amount of time before we are here in front of you today,” Lang said. “There have been many, many stones unturned and many, many conversations. This uncertainty doesn’t help. Having the certainty with a ‘yes’ helps persuade those corporate partners, ‘now is a good time.” “There will be a tremendous amount of support, as we’ve seen here today.” ‘We need your help’ Some members on council voiced inner struggles they’ve had regarding the city’s financial strains, and needing to support an important cultural driver. “The stress on our general fund reserve, the pressures on our city, they’re very large,” Ward 9 Councillor Jason Mancinelli said. “I’m not a fan of it coming up with the general fund reserve, but for me, that’s a question towards budget time.” “We make a decision like this because it’s an important one. And we have to keep it in the back of our minds - we can’t say yes to everything and we have to show self-control. Saying ‘yes’ to this means I probably have to say ‘no’ to something else along the way,” he added. As they threw their full support behind the city’s most prominent symbol of the arts, some councillors challenged other levels of government. “It has been so extremely frustrating, the number of issues under the purview of our provincial government, where I’m not seeing that partnership. They are their residents too,” Ward 6 Councillor Victoria Flores commented. “We are part of the province. To see the city stepping up is so incredibly frustrating, knowing the impact to [the province] is so much less.” Earlier this week the Saskatchewan government supported three arena and event district projects, in North Battleford, Prince Albert and Saskatoon. The provincial government said it’s prepared to cost-match federal contributions, up to a maximum of one-third of eligible project costs, should the projects receive funding approval. “What’s good for Saskatoon is good for Regina,” said David Froh, Ward 3 Councillor. “But I call on the provincial government to follow our lead here today. We need your help.” When the Globe undertook its renovations the province did support the project. However, the agreement did not include covering cost overages. Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said there were no conversations with the province to have a project in Regina included in the announcement. “[The Globe] continues to ask, even though they’ve been given a no,” Bachynski said. “I have some questions I want to ask right away – and I’m going to be reaching out to have conversations.” “Given the investment the three levels of government have already made in the Globe Theatre, I’d like to have a conversation about what that looks like.” The Globe has put in an application to the federal government as part of the ‘Build Canada Strong Fund.’ Announced as part of the 2026 federal budget, the fund aims to support important arts and culture infrastructure projects across Canada. Weaver says the theatre has applied for $12 million in grants but has yet to receive approvals. “The city [of Regina] just proved you can top up a grant, even if you looked at it as non-topical a few years ago,” they said. “This is the third investment from the City of Regina into this project; they’re showing really great leadership here.” Downtown spinoff While seemingly only an approval for an emergency funding request, Bachynski believes it spells a much greater impact for Regina’s downtown. “It sends a strong signal,” he told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting. “It shows council has a strong understanding of the value of our downtown and why it’s important to invest in it.” This investment is the latest in a long list of downtown revitalization projects, including 11th Avenue. “We’re making investments in infrastructure, but ultimately, nice sidewalks aren’t what makes nice downtown,” added Bachynski. “It’s part of it. But institutions like the Globe Theatre provide vibrancy to our community, that’s what really drives people to be downtown.” Weaver noted council’s support and hoped it’s only the beginning of what may come. “The Globe is an extremely important part of downtown, and now we have viability for the rest of our season,” they said. “Downtown is really blossoming and council just agreed we’re a big part of that.” With files from Caitlin Brezinski
