The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE) is deeply disappointed by the Government of Canada’s decision to ask the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to reverse its requirement that foreign online streaming platforms operating in Canada contribute 15% of their revenues to Canada’s media ecosystem.
The CDCE recognizes the cultural sector’s urgent funding needs and welcomes the $600 million in investments announced to support Canadian creation. However, these funds cannot replace the long-term, structural solutions established through the Online Streaming Act. By abandoning the principle that all companies benefiting from the Canadian market should contribute equitably to the cultural ecosystem, the government is making cultural funding more vulnerable to changes in government and shifting political priorities.
This decision comes at a time when key Canadian cultural policies, including the Online Streaming Act, have been identified by the United States as trade irritants. For the CDCE, Ottawa’s decision to ask the CRTC to reverse this measure represents a major and deeply troubling setback in the face of U.S. pressure on Canada’s cultural sovereignty.
Over the past two decades, the ways in which people access cultural content have undergone a profound transformation. While traditional broadcasters have long contributed to financing Canada’s broadcasting system, online platforms now play a central role in how audiences discover and consume content, without being subject to the same obligations. The Online Streaming Act was specifically designed to modernize Canada’s cultural policies in response to this new reality and to ensure that all companies benefiting from the Canadian market contribute to the financing and promotion of Canadian cultural content.
Canada is far from alone in adopting such measures. A growing number of countries have introduced similar requirements to ensure that online streaming services make a fair contribution to the financing of domestic cultural production. The European Union (EU), for example, adopted the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which allows Member States to impose financial obligations on online streaming platforms. France has gone even further, requiring contributions of up to 20% of revenues generated within its territory.
The argument that such contributions would undermine the affordability of online streaming services is not supported by international experience. In Europe, no direct correlation has been established between the level of local content contribution requirements imposed on streaming platforms and the price of their subscriptions. These measures are now fully integrated into the business models of platforms operating in those markets.
“This decision sends an extremely troubling signal to Canada’s cultural sector. After years of consultations, parliamentary debate and regulatory proceedings, Canada cannot afford to retreat from measures that are essential to modernizing its cultural policies. In the current context, it is difficult not to see this decision as a retreat in the face of U.S. pressure on our cultural policies. Canada’s ability to defend its cultural sovereignty depends precisely on its willingness to uphold the tools it has democratically put in place,” said Hélène Messier, Francophone Market, Co-Chair of the CDCE and AQPM CEO.
“Culture is far more than an economic sector: it lies at the heart of our collective identity, the vitality of our languages, and our ability to exist as a distinct nation in North America. The measures adopted for the digital age are designed to ensure that platforms benefiting from the Canadian market also contribute to the financing and promotion of our cultural content. This is a proven and widely recognized approach to ensuring stable, predictable support for Canadian films, television series, and music,” said Andrea Kokonis, Anglophone Co-Chair of the CDCE and Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at SOCAN.
The CDCE will continue to monitor developments closely and remains attentive to any additional details regarding this decision and its potential implications for the implementation of the Online Streaming Act and the future of funding for Canadian cultural creation.