Canada’s Government To Adjust Online Streaming Act

Trisha Matabalan, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
July 16, 2026

(Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

CANADA – The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Honorable Marc Miller, announced $600 million in federal investments per year for Canada’s audio and audiovisual sectors on June 3, 2026. Further, the Government of Canada also pushed forward the motion to reconsider the regulations involving Canadian online streamers and broadcasters.

“Canadians should be able to see themselves in the films and series they watch and hear their lives reflected in the artists they listen to. That’s why we are investing to support the audiovisual and audio sectors now, while bringing necessary stability as we develop new directions that will ensure Canadian content remains affordable and that our stories continue to shape our identity and how the world sees us,” Honorable Marc Miller said.

Since the Online Streaming Act was passed in 2023, the CRTC announced new guidelines for large streaming services and Canadian broadcasters. They wanted them to spend a portion of their Canadian revenues on the acquisition and/or production of Canadian programming. Unfortunately this meant that Canadian consumers faced a rise of prices on these services. In line with this, the Government of Canada said that these adjustments involved “keeping these services affordable for Canadians, protecting choice for consumers, ensuring flexibility for streamers and broadcasters, and finally, leveraging new government investments to maintain strong support for Canadian stories, local news, French-language content, Indigenous storytelling, content created by and for equity-deserving groups and official language minority communities, and services of exceptional importance, including CPAC, APTN, and TV5/Unis.”