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The injections of cultural cash in Tuesday's federal budget are being hailed by many in the arts community as a landmark moment showing national politicians' heightened attention to the arts. But complaints about what was left out remain widespread.

Arts leaders have been virtually unanimous in saying the budget – which, according to the Conservative government, offers $276-million in new funds – brings generally good news, taking culture's prominent profile as a sign of a strengthening relationship with the Tories.

“We're really thrilled that there's a strong minister and that there were [two] pages in the budget devoted to the arts, which is a first in my history,” said Kevin Garland, general director of the National Ballet of Canada.

But two potential recipients that were snubbed continue to feature prominently in most reactions, namely the Canada Council for the Arts and initiatives concerning Canada's cultural presence abroad.

Anne-Marie Jean, general director of Culture Montréal, described the Canada Council as lean and efficient, arguing that it should be handed new tools with which to promote Canada's arts beyond its borders.

“There are interesting things in the budget and we're happy to see that. But we were all deceived by some of it because we thought there would be more money for the Canada Council,” she said.

Jean also argued that the council is uniquely positioned to help maximize the effects of the $60-million in infrastructure spending earmarked for the next two years.

“Although you do have money for infrastructure, you have to have something to present. You have to encourage creation,” she said.

Robert Sirman, the director of the Canada Council, said his organization is still celebrating the $30-million permanent increase to its budget given by the Tories last year. But he added that the council is eager to help provide artists with the touring capacity they lost with the demise of the PromArt and Trade Routes programs last fall.

“We'd like to be a part of some kind of solution that provides greater opportunity to Canadian artists to access international markets. This seems to be what the arts community is most conscious of and is telling us is their No. 1 priority,” he said.

He also expressed concern that the rise in infrastructure money will increase pressure on operating budgets for a number of arts organizations in the years to come, with the burden falling on the council's shoulders.

Garland will join Jean in making the case to Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore that the Canada Council deserves a boost, and she said she has not yet given up on lobbying for increased funding for foreign projects, echoing the spirit of many arts leaders that the conversation is just beginning.

“I think we re-established a relationship with the minister in the past month. … I think we have to have many meetings, we have to have a regular dialogue, which means we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Jean said.

Also absent was any pledge of support for Project Niagara, the collaborative effort by the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to launch a summer music festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. But a pledge of $75-million to Parks Canada for upgrades to sites linked to the War of 1812 could provide some aid, as the festival is slated to open on the 200th anniversary of the war, and be built on a famous landing site.

The announcement of the wide-ranging new Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity has generated considerable buzz, though most observers are eager to see how the prizes will be administered.

There has been effusive praise for the new money given to the National Arts Training Contribution Program, which funds the country's most prominent national training schools such as the National Ballet School and the Royal Conservatory of Music. The Conservative pledge of $20-million in extra funding spread over two years followed by $13-million in permanent increases is part new money and part renewal, as $6-million of the $16-million program was set to expire at the end of this year. Nevertheless, the program will still see a net increase of $7-million – or more than 40 per cent – in perpetuity.

And the permanent extension of the Canada New Media Fund at its current level of $14.3-million each year has been widely welcomed.

But many of the measures, including the $100-million-per-year renewal of the Canadian Television Fund, are limited to two years, leaving some nervous that the government's generosity has a time limit. Sirman attributed the two-year time frame to Conservative attempts to avoid plunging the country into permanent structural deficits.

Still, Garland worries that many arts organizations such as hers lack the sustained, long-term federal support they need to make the most of the government's generosity.

“We're very thrilled to see the National Ballet School will benefit,” she said. “But obviously, in the end, if we have more talent trained in the country we just hope we're able to employ them.”