Feds to restructure fund for combating disinformation, end program for hiring diverse journalists
OTTAWA — The federal government says it will not renew funding next year for an initiative launched to help hire more diverse journalists and support those entering the screen industry.
It says changes will also be coming to a program dedicated to funding projects meant to help combat online disinformation, with several millions in grants to be held back.
The cuts come as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government embarks on a $60 billion spending review that stretches over five years as he looks to reorient the Liberals’ spending towards defence and initiatives designed to spur economic growth.
Details of where each department plans to make cuts were outlined in the government’s departmental plans for 2026-27, which were tabled in Parliament last month.
When it comes to Canadian Heritage, the sprawling department responsible for doling out money to help support the country’s cultural sector, department officials said it planned to achieve a savings of nearly $80 million by 2028-29 by targeting several programs, including the Local Journalism Initiative.
The department clarified that it plans to sunset a funding stream that flowed through the program, which was specifically designed to incentivize newsrooms to hire more diverse journalists. The three-year $10 million program, known as the “Changing Narratives Fund,” also flowed through two other programs and funded training and jobs for Indigenous and Black film producers.
“In the context of the comprehensive expenditure review, the Changing Narratives Fund will not be renewed,” a department spokesperson wrote.
The program itself is set to expire next March.
Alex Freedman, executive director of the Community Radio Fund of Canada, called the decision “unfortunate,” adding that stations were currently in the process of hiring journalists under that stream.
“What I suspect will probably happen is that we will redouble our efforts when/if … the Local Journalism Initiative is renewed to ensure that there is space for emerging journalists and journalists … from the various different minority communities that they had identified.”
“It’s always unfortunate when there are fewer journalists out there on the street and I hope that that’s not ultimately the case.”
Funding for the Local Journalism Initiative, which acts as a job subsidy that allows newsrooms to hire journalists to focus on providing more local coverage, including in rural areas, was last extended in 2024 to run until 2027.
First introduced under former prime minister Justin Trudeau back in 2019, the program was ushered in as part of a package of subsidies and tax measures to help support the country’s journalism industry.
To date, more than $100 million has been announced in spending on the Local Journalism Initiative, which was launched with a mandate to help fill the gaps created in communities hit by layoffs and newsroom closures.
CBC/Radio-Canada, the country’s public broadcaster which receives roughly $1 billion in annual funding, does not qualify for money under the program.
Postmedia, owner of National Post, receives government support through the Local Journalism Initiative, the Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit and the Canada Periodical Fund.
Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada, one of the groups that administers the program, said it currently funds jobs for some 200 journalists across the country and would be concerned should it ever be cut.
He said the program is an important support for the industry, which he observes has stabilized in recent years, as is the tax credit, which allows news organizations to claim a portion of an employee’s salary.
That tax credit was temporarily increased to 35 per cent up from 25 per cent in 2023 and is set to return to the original amount beginning next year.
“On Jan.1, as it reverts down to 25 per cent, on an $85,000 salary, I mean that’s a cut of $8,500 per journalist,” Deegan said.
“That’s a really big issue.”
Deegan says the group is advocating for the tax credit to remain at 35 per cent and believes the government understands the situation the industry finds itself in, saying he expects to learn more when it either presents a spring economic statement or fall budget.
“We don’t have a firm commitment on that yet, but it’s one that certainly, you know, we are advocating for all the time.”
The Canadian Heritage department also identified as part of the government’s spending review plans to see funding for the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund “reduced and reorientated” away from being used towards renovation and construction projects for arts space “to focus solely on funding the acquisition of specialized equipment in the cultural sector.”
It also plans in the next two years to change the funding under the Canadian Periodical Fund, which provides money to publishers.
The department is also targeting a program that has provided funding to universities and organizations undertaking projects dedicated to helping Canadians better understand the information they consume online, from helping identify content made by AI chatbots and false health information circulating about the COVID-19 pandemic, to initiatives that help members of diaspora communities who are targeted by foreign interference attempts and other forms of disinformation.
A department spokesperson said funding under the program “will be restructured,” with the money earmarked for 2026-27 no longer going to be doled out, save for projects that have already received approval.
It added that “policy capacity for online harms will be maintained during this period.”
“The government will continue to pursue efforts to strengthen coordination across governments and academia and help evolve current research and interventions into systemic, proactive, and nationally coherent approaches to information integrity and online safety. ”
It anticipates the changes to the program would result in a savings of roughly $8 million by 2028-29.
National Post
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