Question Period Note: Support for Local Television News

As part of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) implementation of the modernized Broadcasting Act, online streaming services were ordered to contribute 1.5 percent of their Canadian revenues to the Independent Local News Fund to support the creation of local news by independent television stations. Those contributions have been stayed by the Federal Court of Appeals due to litigation challenging the CRTC’s decision. As a result, the Fund’s administrator and independent television stations, that rely on the Fund’s help to produce news, have reached out to the Government for time limited interim support until the Court renders its decision.

• The Government recognizes the precarious state of independent local television stations.
• The Government directed the CRTC to consider support for news including original local and regional news in implementing the Online Streaming Act.
• Ongoing litigation has resulted in a temporary delay in contributions to the Independent Local News Fund.
• We are exploring potential ways to address the short-term pressures faced by local stations.

The Independent Local News Fund
• The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) established the Independent Local News Fund in 2016 with the objective of supporting the production of locally reflective news and information by private independent television stations. The Fund became effective on September 1, 2017.
• All private conventional television stations that provide locally reflective news and information and that do not belong to a vertically integrated group are eligible to receive funding to support news creation.
• The Canadian Association of Broadcasters administers the Fund and allocates its resources according to a formula based on eligible television stations’ share of total expenditures and total number of hours of locally reflective news and information over the previous three broadcast years.
• The Fund has been funded, since its creation, by CRTC-required contributions from broadcasting distribution undertakings (cable companies, satellite distributors and Internet-Protocol Television distributors) who must contribute 0.3 percent of their revenues. However, contributions to the Fund have declined over time, falling from $21.7 million in 2017-18 to $15 million in 2024-25, due to corresponding declines in distributors’ revenues.
Base Contributions Decision and Appeals to the Federal Court
• In Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2024-121-1 and Broadcasting Order 2024-194 (the Base Contributions Decision), the CRTC decided that audiovisual online undertakings with an annual Canadian gross broadcasting revenue over $25 million and that are not affiliated with a traditional undertaking would be required to contribute an equivalent of 1.5 percent of their annual Canadian revenues to the Independent Local News Fund. This allocation is estimated to provide the Fund an additional $42 million annually.
• Major online streaming services filed appeals with the Federal Court of Appeal challenging the CRTC’s Base Contributions Decision. Pending the outcome of the appeal, the Court has ordered a stay on the contribution payments from online streaming services. The Independent Local News Fund has received very little of the expected contributions from online streamers in 2024-25 (precise amount unknown).
• The Federal Court of Appeal’s timeline for issuing its ruling on the streamers’ appeals is not known, but the decision is expected in the coming weeks or months. If the Court upholds the CRTC’s decision, it could reinstate payments, including retroactive payments for 2024-25 (which would presumably be distributed to eligible stations). However, it is possible that the Court will refer the decision back to the CRTC or even invalidates the CRTC’s power to require contributions, in which case no payments would be forthcoming.
State of the Industry
• Private television stations experience significant financial distress due to sustained declines in traditional advertising revenues coupled with increasingly high production costs.
• In December 2025, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters requested that the Government of Canada implement temporary, emergency funding to the Independent Local News Fund of $3.5 million per month, retroactive to September 1st, 2025, and until the Federal Court of Appeal rules on the appeals of the CRTC’s Base Contribution Decision and reinstates online streamers’ payments to the Fund.
• The requested amount reflects the funding that local television broadcasters were expecting to receive from the Fund under the CRTC’s modernized contribution framework, but whose payments have been stayed by the Federal Court of Appeal until resolution of the appeals of the CRTC’s decision.
• The Government recognizes the precarious state of independent local television stations. While certain support mechanisms and legislative modernization initiatives have been implemented, there remains ongoing concern as to whether these measures are sufficient to ensure the long-term sustainability of private local independent broadcasters and to safeguard their critical role in the delivery of local news and information.
• The financial situation of local independent stations could improve following the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision on the appeal of the CRTC’s decision. In the meantime, departmental officials are exploring potential ways to address the short-term pressures faced by local stations.

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