Canadians want federal government to advertise with Canadian news media

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians (65 per cent) want the federal government to commit a percentage of its advertising budget to Canadian news media according to a new survey conducted by Totum Research.

“The Government of Canada’s decision to resume advertising with Meta is a real kick in the shins to independent publishers across Canada,” said Dave Adsett, publisher of the Wellington Advertiser and chair of News Media Canada. “Disinformation travels faster than the truth, and it sends the wrong signal to local advertisers when the government is rewarding a company that is unwilling to fact check information on its own platforms.”

Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of Canadians trust advertising in newspapers/news sites, while just 28 per cent trust ads they see on Facebook/Instagram.

“News publishers call on the federal government to follow the Government of Ontario’s lead to and support the home team by earmarking 25 per cent of their advertising budget to trusted news sources,” said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada. “Last year, just 2 per cent of all federal advertising dollars went to all print publications in the country combined.”

When it comes to their preferred medium to receive information about federal government programs and initiatives, more than half (58 per cent) of respondents cited newspapers/news sites, while only 17 per cent chose Facebook/Instagram.

Totum Research conducted an online survey, on behalf of News Media Canada, of 2,418 adult Canadians between December 9-22, 2024 / January 6-20, 2025, with a maximum margin of error of ±2.0% at the 95% confidence level.