In an exclusive interview with the Western Standard, Rachael Thomas argued the current Liberal approach to media support has distorted the Canadian news market and disproportionately benefited large legacy broadcasters such as the CBC..“Perhaps we consider something like giving a credit toward the consumer,” Thomas said when asked what a future Conservative media policy framework could look like. “That way Canadians themselves determine where they want to invest their dollars and which media outlets they believe are actually providing trustworthy journalism.”Thomas, who serves as a senior Conservative voice on heritage and media issues, said direct federal subsidies undermine public trust in journalism and place independent outlets at a disadvantage.She specifically criticized legislation such as Bill C-18, the Liberal government’s Online News Act, arguing it failed to help smaller publishers while contributing to Meta’s decision to block news content on Facebook and Instagram in Canada.“The Liberals created a system where the government gets to decide winners and losers,” Thomas said. She also accused the CBC of using taxpayer funding to expand aggressively into smaller local markets already served by independent broadcasters.“CBC employees are coming in, and they’re luring people away from these other broadcasters,” she said. .Thomas argued the result has been a weakening of local journalism rather than its protection.“We’ve actually seen local journalism collapse under Liberal policies that were supposedly meant to save it,” she said. The comments come as Conservatives continue to grapple with how to position themselves on CBC funding following years of high-profile attacks on the public broadcaster by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.Poilievre spent years campaigning on a promise to “defund the CBC,” a message that became one of his most recognizable political slogans before the 2025 federal election. During the campaign, however, Conservative messaging shifted toward “reforming” the broadcaster while preserving funding for Radio-Canada’s French-language operations. The issue also became notably less prominent during and after the April 2025 election campaign.Earlier rhetoric from the Conservatives demanded the end of federal journalism bailouts, the 2025 election platform shifted toward reform, and targeted redistribution for local community media and alternative digital media. Thomas’ remarks suggest Conservatives may now be attempting to broaden the conversation beyond the CBC itself toward the wider structure of federal media support programs.She also criticized what she described as increasing secrecy at parliamentary committees studying heritage and media issues.“The Liberals insist that we go in-camera,” she said, referring to closed-door committee meetings. Thomas further accused Heritage Minister Mark Miller of being unwilling to engage with dissenting viewpoints on media policy.“He seems to be quite close minded and unwilling to hear varied viewpoints,” she said. The Western Standard continues to demand the abolition of media subsidies. Its full policy can be read here.
