Canada Stands Firm on Online Streaming Act Amid US Trade War

As tensions between the US and Canada continue to rise, Ottawa is warning that it will not back down on its demands for digital giants to fund local content production in Canada. The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has called on lawmakers to restore spending obligations on US companies under the Online Streaming Act, which was scrapped

The Online Streaming Act was designed to ensure that Canadian content creators receive fair compensation for their work. Under the law, digital giants like Netflix and HBO Max would be required to spend a certain percentage of their revenue on local content. However, US producers have opposed the plan, arguing that it discriminates against American companies.

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Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

Carney and his Liberal Party government this summer chose instead to rescind the spending obligations on American digital giants around the Online Streaming Act and requested taxpayers to pay an extra $600 million for homegrown media content to avoid Trump causing a perfect storm

As content spending requirements have glaringly been pulled into the Canada trade talks, other governments which have similarly considered imposing regulation could be watching closely how this plays out.

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As Donald Trump’s fight with Canada over tariffs escalates into a full-blown trade war, content spending Under rules set up in Canada, U.S. digital giants — think: Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and more — are required to spend a certain amount of money on what’s deemed local content, as in films and shows meant for Canadian audiences. U.S.

producers have held up this plan, titled the Online Streaming Act, Now, local Canadian producers are urging the government to bring back those plans to force American companies to help subsidize domestic film and TV production. Lawmakers in Canada, in an effort to be diplomatic, had rescinded that Online Streaming Act to get more favorable terms on a possible cross-border trade and tariffs deal.

It didn’t work out. So the knives are coming out from some producers for restoring plans to draw subsidies from U.S. companies.

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

“Last night, the federal government stood up for Canada We look forward to working with the government to ensure that, whatever happens next, the Online Streaming Act, a key pillar of Canadian cultural and digital sovereignty, is defended,” Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association, representing indie producers, stated after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney broke off crunch talks late Friday.

“Canadians must remain in control of their own stories, with global platforms that generate billions of dollars from our market playing Carney, addressing a press conference on Saturday, stated the trade talks were abandoned in part after American negotiators objected to digital-content rules around the French language that can lead to higher operating costs for U.S. companies looking to get content into French-speaking Quebec.