The Canadian news media sector is in crisis.
Thanks in large part to the market dominance of the digital advertising economy by foreign tech giants like Meta and Google, shuttered local news outlets and massive job losses are becoming routine right across the country. To add insult to injury, in 2024 alone, we exported $13 billion in digital advertising revenues to these very same tech giants.
The reason? A long-standing loophole in federal tax law that incentivizes Canadian companies to spend their ad dollars south of the border.
This isn’t just bad optics. It’s rapidly eroding the business model that Canadian news publishers, both big and small, rely on to survive. In fact, the news deserts that we have seen in print media are now threatening to spread to broadcast news, with the resulting void being filled by special interest groups, misinformation and disinformation.
No democracy, no matter how strong, can thrive under these conditions.
That is why Friends of Canadian Media is proposing amendments to the Income Tax Act that will repatriate Canadian digital advertising dollars so that they can be redirected toward Canadian news programming and jobs. When it comes to ensuring the long-term future of our news media sector, and ultimately, of our democracy, we must use all the tools at our disposal.
You can do your part today by telling Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Finance, to use the upcoming Fall Economic Statement to incentive Canadian companies to spend their advertising dollars at home.