Trade · Canada

Ottawa’s Streaming Reset, Explained

Ottawa says it intends to scrap the CRTC's streamer payments and fund Canadian content itself, which changes who pays for the Canadian shows you watch.

By Jeff Cameron October 10, 2026 6 min read

Illustration: The Remote

For two years, the deal looked settled on paper: big streaming services not owned by Canadian broadcasters would pay into funds that help make Canadian television, film and local news. In May, the regulator tripled the headline number. Within two weeks, Ottawa said it would step in. Now the federal government has told a court it intends to drop the streamer payments altogether and replace them with public money. Here is what changed, in order, and what it means for your bill and for the Canadian shows that get made.

Bar chart: CRTC set a 5% base contribution in June 2024, raised the total to 15% in May 2026, and in July 2026 Ottawa told the court it plans to scrap the base contribution — How the base contribution got here, from CRTC decisions and Ottawa’s court filing. Graphic: *The Remote*

Where it started

Under the Online Streaming Act, the CRTC issued Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2024-121 on 4 June 2024. In the regulator’s words, it would require “online streaming services that make $25 million or more in annual contributions revenues and that are not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster to contribute 5% of those revenues to certain funds.” Final orders followed on 29 August 2024, starting with the 2024 to 2025 broadcast year.

The CRTC spelled out where the money would go. For video services, 2% was earmarked for the Canada Media Fund, 1.5% for a fund supporting independent local news, and the rest split among the Indigenous Screen Office Fund, funds for Black and racialized creators, accessibility, and independent production funds serving official language minority and diverse communities.

Amazon, Apple, Spotify and a group led by the Motion Picture Association-Canada went to court. On 23 December 2024 the Federal Court of Appeal paused the payment requirements for Amazon, Apple and Spotify until it decides their cases (2024 FCA 217). For the Motion Picture Association-Canada group, the court paused only the local news portion. According to a June 2026 briefing note from Canadian Heritage, the court heard the case in June 2025 and “a decision is pending.”

May: the CRTC triples it

On 21 May 2026 the CRTC published Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2026-96, its new framework for Canadian programming expenditures. The headline line: “The CPE requirement for online streaming services will be 15%, which includes their 5% base contribution requirement.”

That 15% is mostly spending rather than a cheque to a fund. It means money a streamer puts into Canadian programming, under rules about where it lands. The CRTC defines large services as those with $100 million or more in annual Canadian broadcasting revenues and sets no spending requirement below $25 million. For the large services, at least 30% of that spending must go to French-language programming, and at least 30% must flow through partnerships with Canadian broadcasters or independent producers that hold majority copyright.

“We are taking action to ensure stable funding for Canadian and Indigenous content, and to help make it more discoverable,” said Vicky Eatrides, the CRTC’s chairperson and chief executive officer. The regulator said the requirements would be applied to each service through future, tailored conditions of service rather than all at once.

June: Ottawa pulls the handbrake

On 3 June, Canadian Heritage announced that Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, would direct the CRTC to review the May decision and that the government would develop new policy directions on how the Online Streaming Act is carried out.

The department’s reasoning was cost. “The CRTC’s new requirements would impose new costs on the companies providing these services,” the release says, “which could ultimately fall on Canadian consumers through higher prices.” It adds: “At a time when Canadians face cost-of-living pressure, now is not the time to make culture and entertainment more expensive.”

Alongside the review, the government “announced federal investments of $600 million per year to provide stability and immediate support” to the audio and audiovisual sectors. The release promises details after consultation with the industry and strong support for French-language production. It does not say how long the funding lasts or which funds receive it, and it notes: “Once the new CRTC rules are finalized, the level of government investment will be adjusted as appropriate.”

July: the government tells the court

On 17 July, counsel for the Attorney General of Canada at the Department of Justice wrote to the Federal Court of Appeal with a status update on the streamers’ cases. The letter states that “the Government’s intention is to eliminate the base contribution requirement on streaming services” and “to provide government funding to replace those contributions.” It says the new direction to the CRTC, made under section 7 of the Broadcasting Act, will be published for public consultation in the Canada Gazette, Part I, which the government expected “in the coming weeks.”

Where it stands today

As of the 3 October issue, no proposed policy direction on streaming has appeared in Part I of the Gazette. The July letter describes the streamers’ cases as still before the Federal Court of Appeal. The CRTC said the 15% framework would reach each company through future conditions of service, and that framework is now under review at the government’s direction. The 5% base contribution remains a CRTC rule that the government says it intends to remove.

That leaves two money streams in motion at once. The streamer payments that were meant to feed Canadian funds are paused for some companies and headed for elimination for all. The $600 million a year that Ottawa says will replace them has a number but, so far, no published breakdown.

What it means for you

Your bill: The CRTC rules apply to the companies, not to subscribers, so there is no CRTC line on your bill. The government’s case is that the costs “could ultimately fall on Canadian consumers through higher prices”; that is a forecast, and streamers set their own prices.
Canadian shows: The 2024 rules pointed streamer money at the Canada Media Fund, local news, and Indigenous, Black and racialized creators. Ottawa says public funding will replace it. Which funds get how much is the detail to watch.
What comes next: The proposed direction is due in Canada Gazette Part I for public consultation. When it appears, anyone can comment before it is final.
The 15% rule: It is under review at the government’s direction, so the spending streamers owe on Canadian programming could still change.