The federal government is committing new funding to CBC/Radio-Canada and a wider slate of cultural programs as part of its 2025 budget, presenting the plan as support for modernization, public broadcasting, and the broader creative sector.
CBC/Radio-Canada is set to receive $150 million in 2025-26 to update operations and continue providing bilingual programming, in addition to the $42 million announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.
The government says the funding will help the public broadcaster adapt to changing media markets, improve service to audiences, and better reflect the needs of Canadians.
Budget documents also reiterate plans to review the broadcaster’s mandate, including measures intended to strengthen its independence.
The budget confirms the government is working with CBC/Radio-Canada to explore Canada’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision, longtime programming in Europe, is organized by the European Broadcasting Union and features musical performances representing participating nations.
The possibility of entry signals a cultural branding push the government says could help expand the reach of Canadian artists internationally.
CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding and role continue to be debated publicly. Supporters argue the public broadcaster remains necessary for national journalism, cultural representation, and French-language content.
Critics have raised concerns about taxpayer spending levels and the broadcaster’s competitive position relative to private media at a time when many news outlets are facing financial pressure.
“CBC defends its very existence based on its journalism, but its number of journalists are going down while its bureaucracy keeps getting bigger and taxpayer costs keeps going up,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director.
“Why does the government keep giving CBC more taxpayer money if barely anyone is watching and its number of journalists keeps going down?”
Beyond the CBC, the budget includes a multiyear cultural spending package beginning in 2026-27.
It allocates $48 million over three years to the Canada Music Fund to support Canadian artists; $6 million over three years for TV5MONDEplus to acquire French-language Canadian content; $150 million over three years for Telefilm Canada to support Canada’s film sector; and $127.5 million over three years for the Canada Media Fund to develop audio-visual production.
The National Film Board would receive $26.1 million over three years for content creation and distribution, and the Canada Periodical Fund would receive $38.4 million over three years to help small and community news outlets.
Another $6 million over three years would go to the Canada Council for the Arts to support professional artists and arts organizations.
Altogether, the cultural funding totals roughly $400 million and is described in the budget as a strategy to grow Canada’s creative industries and help Canadian talent compete in a digital and global marketplace.
The fiscal plan also includes a proposed change to copyright legislation to ensure creators of original visual artwork receive royalties when their work is resold, a measure intended to align Canadian law with standards in other jurisdictions.
