After eliminating unpopular Trudeau-era policies like the consumer carbon tax and the Digital Services Tax, and undoing many of his predecessor’s retaliatory tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney is entertaining the idea of ending or changing the Online News Act, a signature Trudeau government policy.
According to the Trudeau government, the Online News Act, was designed to help save local journalism. It forced digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google to pay local news outlets every time those platforms made news content or links to news content available on their sites.
Some might think that sounds reasonable. But here’s the thing: local media benefitted from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google sharing their material. It encouraged Canadians to click on those links and read local media stories. And, once they clicked on those links, they could see both local media content and the local advertising that went with it.
As Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said at the time, the Trudeau-era legislation was based on a “false premise” that Meta or Google benefitted from sharing local news content rather than the local news content outlet themselves being the ones that benefit.
Instead of footing a government-mandated bill, Meta decided to just ban news stories from Facebook and Instagram. Since June 2023, Canadians haven’t been able to see links to news stories on Facebook and Instagram because Meta doesn’t want to have to hand out money every time users see or share a link to a news story.
The Online News Act and Meta’s ban made its way back into the news in the wake of the wildfires that have been experienced across Western Canada this summer.
Canadians who might have gotten exposed to local news on the wildfires on Facebook or Instagram were not exposed to that news. In some cases, that vehicle of news delivery could have been critical.
Carney says the government is looking at ways to improve the dissemination of local news, and, at a news conference earlier this month, didn’t rule out the possibility of changing or repealing the Online News Act as a means of doing that.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Meta of putting its profits ahead of the safety of Canadians back in 2023 when it made its decision to ban news content. Carney, on the other hand, says pursuing change to the Online News Act is “part of our thinking around” improving Canadians’ access to local media.
“We will look for all avenues to do that,” said Carney.
Repealing the Online News Act would not only be a good move in exposing more Canadians to local news, but it would also signal to the United States and President Donald Trump that Canada is serious about getting rid of some of the trade irritants that have poisoned the bilateral relationship in recent years.
Eliminating some retaliatory tariffs was an important step. This can be another.
The Carney government has been remarkably opaque in explaining exactly why Canada hasn’t been able to strike a deal on tariffs with the United States and why Canada’s non-CUSMA trade is now subject to some of the highest baseline American tariffs in the world.
U.S. lawmakers have pointed to trade irritants like the Online News Act and the Online Streaming Act as evidence Ottawa has deliberately and unfairly targeted U.S. firms. In the case of the Online News Act, it’s Meta and Google that have been in the Liberal government’s crosshairs.
The Carney government already dropped the Digital Services Tax, which would have imposed a tax on digital platforms, largely American, for their digital service revenue in Canada. Dropping legislation like the Online News Act in the wake of that previous move should be an easy decision.
The Online News Act is hurting, not helping, local journalism, primarily because Meta is preventing news from being shared on its platforms. It’s also one of the key pieces of Trudeau-era legislation that is serving as a trade irritant in negotiations with the Trump administration. Trump has been very clear that he’s out to defend U.S. firms against foreign legislation that targets them, and the Online News Act does exactly that.
Carney would be wise to quickly repeal the Online News Act to help the dissemination of local journalism in Canada and remove yet another blockage in Canada’s trading relationship with the United States.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
