Ottawa says it will not clarify whether a CRTC requirement for streamers to contribute toward Canadian content could apply in future years.
The Story
Days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was not necessary to impose a tax on big tech companies, his office declined to clarify whether future financial contributions from streamers toward Canadian content are off the table.
Carney made the comments at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday when asked about a CRTC-mandated requirement for streamers to pay a percentage of their revenues toward Canadian content. The question came as the federal Liberals previously said in June that they wanted the regulator to back down on the contribution requirement and instead provide $600 million in annual funding directly.
A government spokesperson confirmed that the $600 million allocated for this fiscal year could vary in future because the CRTC could still impose some level of financial contribution on streamers. Spokespeople for the Prime Minister’s Office did not answer questions about where the government stands on imposing such contributions in future years, nor did they answer what tax Carney was referring to.
The government’s discussion comes against the backdrop of how the contribution rules work under the Online Streaming Act. The CRTC’s approach has at times been inaccurately described as a “Netflix tax,” but the rules are contributions mandated by the regulator rather than a tax.
Over the summer, Ottawa cited U.S. demands related to the visibility of Canadian content on streaming services as one of the reasons it cut off trade talks with the United States. The U.S. has also maintained that streaming companies being required to make financial contributions toward Canadian content is the issue at hand.
Culture Minister Marc Miller said the government would ask the CRTC to set “strict minimums” for streamers that want to do business in Canada, including ensuring they invest—on their own balance sheet—into Canadian content. He suggested the directive could differentiate between requiring streamers to pay into independent funds for production and requiring direct investment by the streamers themselves.
Miller said he could not guarantee that every year would include $600 million from the federal government, but that “in one way or another, there will be money going into the ecosystem.” He said further details would be provided when the government issues a new policy directive to the CRTC.
Miller’s comments drew criticism from industry groups. Michele Austin, president of Motion Picture Association — Canada, said Miller’s remarks were “definitely concerning and confusing.” The group said global studios and streamers “invest $5.3 billion a year making movies and series in Canada with Canadian creators and talent,” and that they commit another $1 billion to financing Canadian content.
Canadian Media Producers Association president Reynolds Mastin said in a statement that a core tenet of the Online Streaming Act is “ensuring that streaming services earning billions from Canadian subscribers contribute meaningfully to Canadian content.”
The CRTC’s contribution requirements have been tied to court activity as well. In 2024, the CRTC made an initial order requiring large streaming companies to pay five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to funds devoted to producing Canadian content, including local TV news, and the Federal Court of Appeal put a pause on the payments. In May, the court said it would require large streaming services such as Netflix to contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues toward Canadian content, and described rules for how the money must be spent.
In response to a request for comment, Netflix pointed to already-public information about commissioned shows it has produced in Canada, including the recent series Below, which was shot and set in Newfoundland. Netflix said it has been filming in Canada for more than a decade and has contributed billions of dollars in GDP to Canada, but the cited information did not include figures on how much the company spent directly on producing or commissioning programming in Canada.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents tech companies including some streamers, opposed the CRTC’s contribution requirements. Its vice-president for digital trade, Jonathan McHale, said in an emailed statement that “any mandatory contribution would be discriminatory, so we would oppose it,” adding that companies often see it as beneficial to invest and that the association supports maintaining flexibility.
← More stories