CRTC Orders Streamers to Invest 15% of Revenue in Canadian Content
Netflix, Prime Video, and Spotify face new requirements that triple previous obligations, sparking pushback from U.S. industry groups ahead of trade negotiations.
Canada's broadcast regulator, the CRTC, announced Thursday that large TV streaming services must invest 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues in Canadian content—a tripling of the initial requirement set in 2024 and a significant tightening of rules that U.S. industry groups are already challenging.
The Motion Picture Association, representing Netflix, Prime Video, and other American streamers, called the decision "unprecedented, unnecessary and discriminatory." The group said it will triple the cost of doing business in Canada and urged the federal government to reconsider before trade negotiations with the U.S. resume.
"American studios and streaming services are already the top foreign investors in Canada's film and TV ecosystem," the MPA wrote, framing the rule as punitive rather than fair.
But Canadian industry organizations saw it differently. The Canadian Media Producers Association said the CRTC's decision reflects decades of broadcasting policy: that companies generating significant revenue from Canadian audiences must invest in Canadian programming. ACTRA Toronto, the performers' union, backed the ruling as likely to generate new opportunities and ensure Canadian stories get made.
The CRTC also set specific spending rules. Streamers with Canadian revenues over $100 million annually must direct 30 per cent of spending toward partnerships with Canadian broadcasters and independent producers. Large Canadian broadcasters, meanwhile, see their contribution requirements lowered from 30-45 per cent to 25 per cent.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told social media the decision "is making a bad situation worse," framing it as targeting American companies and raising discriminatory trade barriers.
For Montréal and Quebec, which has long fought to protect French-language and Québécois content from U.S. streamers, the ruling represents a partial victory. But the legal challenges from major platforms are ongoing, and trade tensions may complicate the implementation. Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller said he is reviewing the decision carefully.