Support to increase government subsidies for the media is highest among young Canadians according to a new poll commissioned by the True North Centre for Public Policy.
The survey was conducted by the polling group One Persuasion. While pollsters found that most Canadians supported maintaining the status quo or boosting government funding for the media, survey respondents between 18 and 34 years of age were the biggest advocates of more subsidies.
According to the poll, 57% of males in this age group said the current funding for Canadian media should be maintained, while 22% said it should be increased. For women in the same age group, 47% said taxpayer subsidies should be maintained, and 17% said they should be increased.
In comparison, men and women between the ages of 35 and 54 had the lowest support for increased subsidies. Across all age brackets, 58.1% of Canadians wanted to see the status quo or government spending on media increased. Broken down further, 13.5% of those polled wanted more spending and 44.6% supported current spending.
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The strongest support for eliminating taxpayer funding and subsidies to Canada’s news and media sector was found among males and females aged 55 and older, at 27% and 28% respectively.
However, males who support decreasing taxpayer funding and subsidies for the sector were most commonly between the ages of 35 and 54, at 21%. The strongest support for decreasing amongst females was still held by those aged 55 or older, at 22%. This was trailed only slightly by females aged 35 to 54, 21% of whom supported decreasing taxpayer funding and subsidies for the sector.
Executives at some of Canada’s top media outlets have recognized the trust crisis brewing in the industry. CBC President and CEO Catherine Tait and other media leaders convened in 2023 for the “Trust Talks” initiative to discuss how to repair the situation including how increased government funding has led to mistrust by challenging perceptions of journalistic impartiality..
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has blamed “conspiracy theorists” for this erosion of trust.
The education level of those with the strongest support for eliminating taxpayer funding and subsidies for Canada’s news and media sector was a tie between Canadians who had graduated high school or less and attended trade school or college, at 27%.
The lowest and highest income bracket saw a small difference, with 28% of Canadians who make less than $50,000 a year and 27% of those who make more than $150,000 a year saying taxpayer funding or subsidies for the sector should be eliminated.
Other major media industry players like Québecor and Bell have also faced significant layoffs and restructuring. Métro Média and various Bell Canada radio stations were closed in 2023.
Another near-tie was found amongst those who said taxpayer funding and subsidies should be maintained for the news sector, with 48% of Canadians who possessed an undergraduate degree and 49% of those with a postgraduate degree holding that belief.
While Canadians with the highest level of education were most likely to say that the government should increase taxpayer funding for Canada’s news and media sector, the lowest-income Canadians most commonly said the same.
CBC received an additional $42 million in the Liberals’ 2024 federal budget, on top of the $1.4 billion the broadcaster is already set to receive in taxpayer funding for 2024-25.
17% of Canadians with a postgraduate degree said taxpayer subsidies should be increased for the media sector. In comparison, 16% of those who made less than $50,000 a year said the same. Only 9% of Canadians with a high school diploma or less held the same belief.
Support for taxpayer funding media varied greatly between regions as well.
The region with the most support for eliminating subsidies for the media sector was the Prairies, with 36% of its residents holding that belief. The other side of the spectrum saw 15% of Québécois support eliminating taxpayer funding.
No region wants taxpayer funding and subsidies for Canada’s news sector decreased more than Ontario, with 22% of its residents saying it should be decreased. The region with the most support to increase taxpayer funding and subsidies was the Atlantic, where 18% of residents felt that way.
The poll was commissioned by the True North Centre for Public Policy and was conducted by One Persuasion Inc. An online panel of 1,005 Canadians was polled between August 2-7, 2024. The results were balanced and weighted to match the demographics of Canada. While an online panel does not have a margin of error, an equivalent poll of this size has a margin of error of 3.1% nineteen times out of twenty.