By Connie Thiessen
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Writers Guild of Canada, and Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions are among the arts and culture groups congratulating Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal Liberal Party on the outcome of Monday’s federal election, as they outline their hopes for the new government.
“During the election campaign, producers were encouraged by Liberal Party commitments to support Canada’s cultural sector through the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, investment in Canada’s public broadcaster, and defence of our national cultural sovereignty in future trade negotiations with the United States; the government must now follow through on these commitments,” CMPA President and CEO Reynolds Mastin said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Pointing to a recent CMPA-commissioned survey indicating Canadians overwhelmingly support the promotion of Canadian culture and identity through screen media, and are more likely to back political parties that champion Canadian identity, Mastin said defending Canadian culture has never been more important.
“The CMPA stands ready to work with parliamentarians from all parties to safeguard our cultural independence and to ensure Canadian media producers can continue to bring stories to the screen that are foundational to promoting our national identity,” added Mastin.
WGC President Bruce Smith said the organization, which represents 2,500 professional screenwriter members, looks forward to “working constructively with the new federal government to build a film and television industry that is not dependent on U.S. production to survive. Canadian sovereignty requires Canadian identity.”
Meanwhile, the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE), which counts over 350,000 creators and more than 3,000 francophone and anglophone cultural enterprises across the country amongst its membership, issued a reminder to the incoming government that expectations within the cultural sector are high.
Its priorities include mitigating the economic impacts of the trade dispute with the U.S., protecting cultural industries in trade agreements, ensuring implementation of the modernized Broadcasting Act, making targeted changes to copyright legislation, and taking action to safeguard creators in response to disruptions caused by generative AI.
The CDCE is calling on the new government to deliver on commitments made by the Liberals during the campaign, particularly its support for preserving the cultural exemption in trade agreements.
“This essential measure enables Canada to implement policies that support its cultural industries,” the organization said in a statement.
Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) President Kevin Desjardins said his members are looking forward to engaging with the new government “immediately” to underline the ongoing and deepening impact that foreign – mostly American – media companies continue to have on our domestic markets for advertising, programming and audiences, and how urgent steps need to be taken to address these issues.
“While much of the discussion around broadcasting during the election focused on the CBC, the CAB will convey to all parties that settling on the public broadcaster as a ‘backstop’ against foreign dominance of our sector is not a productive path forward that serves Canadians,” said Desjardins.
“The CAB will also ask the opposition Conservative Party of Canada to remain true to their platform promise to push for Canadian taxpayers’ dollars to be spent on Canadian-owned media when the government makes use of paid advertising as a communications tool.”
For the Association des professionnels de l’edition musicale (APEM), the trade org representing Quebec and French-speaking music publishers in Canada hopes the new government uses “all necessary levers to promote and protect our culture.
“In the current context, we must act to ensure the prosperity and sustainability of the music sector, particularly the Francophone sector. We offer our full cooperation to elected officials to move these issues forward,” Jerome Payette, APEM’s executive director, said in a press release.
“APEM calls for adequate and predictable public funding, the strengthening of the Copyright Act , the continued implementation of the Broadcasting Act, and a framework for artificial intelligence,” the press release continued. “The Government of Canada must also act to preserve our cultural sovereignty, notably by protecting the cultural exception in trade agreements and securing the future of our public broadcaster.”
Finally, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) warned the new government about a threat from the United States.
“These are critical times for Canada’s cultural industries,” it said in a press release. “Powerful lobby groups representing major U.S. studios are actively pressuring the American government to dismantle Canada’s cultural policies during upcoming trade negotiations.
“ACTRA values the depth of experience and leadership that you and your colleagues in the Liberal Party bring to government. We trust that your administration will continue to ensure the rights and interests of Canadian workers and creators in the cultural sector.”
With a file from Ahmad Hathout. Screenshot from CBC News feed of Mark Carney’s victory speech Monday.
