The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced last week it will invest $338 million in the Canadian audiovisual industry during its 2025-2026 fiscal year, which started April 1.
This is $19 million less than the CMF’s 2024-2025 program budget announced in March 2024.
“In 2025-2026 the CMF will expand the flexibility granted to applicants and encourage increased collaboration between producers, broadcasters, and distributors to further evolve the CMF’s funding model to respond to the industry,” Valerie Creighton, CMF president and CEO, said in a press release.
“Despite the lower budget, the CMF is implementing a number of significant initiatives that reflect Canada’s evolving screen industries: increasing support and flexibility for Children and Youth projects to address the unique pressures faced by producers working in this genre, continuing investment in the Distributor Program, enhancing our Interactive Digital Media programs, and shifting the administration of our Indigenous Program to the Indigenous Screen Office [ISO],” Creighton said.
Commenting on the latter announcement, Kerry Swanson, the ISO’s CEO, said in a statement: “It is an exciting next step in the growth of the Indigenous Screen Office to officially administer the CMF’s Indigenous Program. The CMF has been a trusted partner and collaborator since the very beginning of the ISO, and we thank their team for their continued support in this transition. This milestone reinforces our commitment to Indigenous narrative sovereignty, and we look forward to working with our partners to continue expanding opportunities for Indigenous creators.”
Creighton added the CMF’s 2025-2026 budget also includes the continuation of the designated funding announced in the 2024 federal budget for equity deserving groups.
The CMF’s program budget is supported by revenue estimates for the coming year based on ongoing funding contributions from the federal government, and contributions from Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors, collectively known as broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs). The program budget is also supported by tangible benefits, recoupment, and repayment revenues from funded productions.
“While this year’s budget reflects a steady contribution from the Government of Canada, the CMF’s overall program budget has decreased due to BDU revenue declines and other keys sources of revenue,” the CMF’s press release said.
A breakdown of the CMF’s 2025-2026 program budget is available here. A summary of the key changes in the CMF’s newly published program guidelines can be found here.
CMF staff will host two Zoom webcasts on May 6 to provide more information about the changes to CMF programs and guidelines for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
