Question Period Note: Canada Media Fund

Launched in April 2010, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) is funded by the Government of Canada and cable, satellite and Internet Protocol Television distributors to support the creation of Canadian audiovisual content across multiple platforms. The Government stabilized funding to the CMF as part of Budget 2018 to compensate for declining contributions from the private sector, investing up to $172 million over five years. In 2021-22, these additional funds represent an investment of $29.7 million in the CMF. In addition, Budget 2021 provided $60 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to the CMF to “increase support for productions led by people from equity-deserving groups working in the Canadian audiovisual industry.’’ Budget 2021 also included $5 million over two years from the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport sectors to support ethnic and third language producers through the CMF program.

• The audiovisual sector is essential to telling Canadian stories and is a major driver of the economy.
• All Canadians deserve to see themselves reflected on our screens, which is why Budget 2021 provided $60 million over three years to the Canada Media Fund for equity-deserving creators and to support greater diversity in Canadian productions.
• As part of the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport sectors, the Government allocated $5 million over two years for the Canada Media Fund program, to provide temporary relief for ethnic and third-language producers facing significant disruption as a result of COVID-19.
 

• The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is the largest fund for television and digital content production in Canada. In 2020-21, it provided approximately $347.3 million to finance the development, production, marketing and export of 1,309 television and digital media projects. This investment in turn triggered about $1.5 billion in activity in Canada’s creative economy. In 2021-22, the CMF plans to invest $364 million. The Government of Canada allocates $134.1 million annually to the CMF on an ongoing basis. It will supplement this by an additional $29.7 million this year as part of stabilizing the CMF’s funding because of declining private sector contributions.
• The CMF delivers financial support mainly through two funding streams:
o The Convergent Stream (2021-22: $296.1 million) encourages the creation of convergent television and associated digital media content such as games, interactive Web content, on-demand content, podcasts, webisodes and mobisodes. Supported content must appear on at least two platforms. Genres funded are drama, documentary, children’s and youth, variety and performing arts.
o The Experimental Stream (2021-22: $43.9 million) is project-based funding that supports the creation of leading edge interactive digital content and software applications created exclusively for the Internet, wireless, or other new/emerging platforms.
• Through CRTC regulations, cable, satellite and Internet Protocol TV distributors (also known as broadcasting distribution undertakings - BDUs) must contribute no less than five percent of their broadcasting revenues to Canadian programming, about half of which goes to the CMF. These revenues have been in decline since 2013-14 as a result of declining cable and satellite subscription revenues.
• In Budget 2018, the Government announced it would stabilize the CMF by allocating up to $172 million over five years and $42.5 million ongoing thereafter. To date, as part of this commitment, the Government has invested an additional:
o $17 million in 2018-19
o $23.5 million in 2019-20
o $26.3 million in 2020-21
o $29.7 million in 2021-22
• The CMF and the Department have recently worked to implement a number of program changes to better align the CMF’s programming with today’s realities, including:
o Supporting content specifically designed for online audiences by authorizing Canadian broadcasters’ and BDUs’ online platforms as eligible triggers for CMF funding.
o Implementing new sector development activities that address key gaps in the production ecosystem. For example, offering training and career opportunities to support gender parity and Indigenous production.
o Placing a greater emphasis on early-stage development projects, for the first time directly providing support to creators for activities like script writing.
o Implementing an Equity and Inclusion Strategy to support equity-deserving communities within the audiovisual sector (e.g. Indigenous, Black, and racialized people, women, people with disabilities, etc.).
• In addition, the Government made significant investments in COVID-19 relief for the Sector. Specifically, through the CMF, the Government invested:
o in April 2020: $120 million to support Canadian television and digital media companies, including more than $20 million to support underrepresented groups within the audiovisual sector (through the $500 million Emergency Support Fund Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations).
o in June 2021: $5 million over two years (2021-22 and 2022-23) to support the recovery of third language community productions (through the $300 million Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sports Sectors).
• As part of Budget 2021, $60 million will be provided over three years, starting in 2021-22, to the CMF to increase support for productions led by people from equity-deserving groups working in the Canadian audiovisual industry.
o This investment will provide opportunities for equity-deserving creators to build skills and experience, and to support greater diversity in top-tier productions.
o Targeted funding for the CMF will be used to directly benefit underrepresented professionals in the industry, including women, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, Black, racialized and Indigenous creators.

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