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Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of Canadians would like the federal government to pledge its advertising dollars to support domestic news media outlets, a new poll found.
The survey commissioned by News Media Canada also revealed considerably higher levels of trust for newspaper and online news site advertisements (63 per cent) compared to social media advertisements, such as those seen on platforms like Facebook or Instagram (28 per cent).
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“Now more than ever, Canadians want their tax dollars to support local media in their communities,” said Kevin Desjardins, the president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, in a statement to National Post.
The findings were released after the federal government confirmed Wednesday it was ending its advertising boycott of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which began in July 2023 when the tech giant blocked Canadian news content across its network in response to the Online News Act. The legislation requires companies compensate Canadian outlets for sharing news content across their platforms.
The Privy Council Office elaborated that the federal advertising campaign would include $100,000 promoting the GST holiday, a $3,500 job recruitment advertisement for Parks Canada and a nearly $175,750 online rollout promoting Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada.
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News Media Canada CEO Paul Deegan was perplexed by the federal government’s decision to resume advertising with Meta despite the company’s decision to continue blocking access to news content for Canadian social media users.
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“You’re essentially rewarding a company that isn’t prepared to pay publishers for news,” he told the Post.
Based on their latest survey, Deegan said the federal government should take a page from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s book after his government committed a quarter of its advertising budget to local news publishers.
“It’s made a meaningful difference already to publishers,” he said. “If you were to have the feds do the same thing and have other provinces and municipalities, it would be a massive thing.”
Deegan said the announcement came at an unusual time, as bilateral tensions with the United States have flared since President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada and then granted a 30-day reprieve on Monday.
“This is the wrong time for the government to soften its stand on advertising with Meta,” Desjardins wrote.
Supporting local Canadian news through government advertising has the added benefit of placing advertisements in forums Canadians trust significantly more than American social media networks, Deegan added.
Lisa Sygutek, the owner and publisher of Alberta’s Crowsnest Pass Herald, felt the federal government’s latest decision contradicted the evidence that Canadians trust domestic news outlets more than social media sites and would contribute to “a wildfire of misinformation, unchecked narratives, and a public left vulnerable to deception.”
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“I call on the Government of Canada to correct this mistake,” Sygutek wrote the Post. “Support local journalism. Stop rewarding Meta’s reckless behaviour. Do what is right — before it’s too late.”
The online survey by Totum Research was conducted on behalf of News Media Canada between Dec. 9 and 22 and Jan.6 and 20, 2025. It involved 2,418 adult Canadians, and has a margin of error of plus or minus two per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.
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