Groups ask feds to put advertising money into local media

By Lethbridge Herald on October 14, 2025.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

The federal government is being called upon to adopt a “Buy Canadian” advertising policy.

Several Canadian media associations are asking Ottawa to set aside a minimum 25 per cent of the federal advertising budget to support news  media in this country.

Those associations include the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association and News Media Canada.

According to Steve Waldman of the American-based not-for-profit Rebuild Local News organization, “advertising set-asides are a payment for a service – not a subsidy – that can provide substantial revenue to local news organizations and help community journalism thrive. It is money the government is already spending — not new money — so it does not require enlarging government budgets or raising taxes.”

In a media release, Crowsnest Pass Herald publisher Lisa Sygutek, who is also chair of the AWNA, said that federal advertising dollars that are taxpayer funded should be spent in Canadian communities, not directed to tech companies in California “whose algorithms amplify disinformation and drive division.”

According to News Media Canada vice chair Benoit Chartier, more than 85 per cent of Canadian adults read newspaper content each week “and they trust our content more than social media and online search.

“According to a recent study, advertising in trustworthy environments  lead to a 25 per cent lift in brand rating. News publishers in aggregate are seen as 35 per cent above the baseline level of trust  across information environments,” says Chartier.

That study showed that “news publishers in aggregate are seen as 35 per cent above the baseline level of trust across information environments. Local news publishers see an additional 16 per cent gain in perceived trustworthiness among local audiences and this effect is particularly pronounced in Quebec.”