The Canadian Radio-television and telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is pressing ahead with a major expansion of streaming regulation despite ongoing court challenges from major online platforms, unveiling new rules Thursday that would triple mandated contributions from streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ operating in Canada. 

The Online Streaming Act, passed in 2023 under Trudeau government, imposed a rule for streaming companies making at least $25 million annually to direct five per cent in contribution to support Canadian content like movies, television and local news.

Under the new framework, foreign streaming platforms will now face a 15 per cent Canadian programming expenditure requirement – including a five per cent base contribution introduced in 2024. 

“A lot of what we’re doing today is recalibrating that contribution,” said Scott Shortcliffe, CRTC vice-president said during a media briefing.

Shortcliffe said the regulation would help build a more “equitable” system as audiences increasingly shift away from traditional television toward streaming services.

The new rules specifically apply to broadcasting groups making at least $25 million annually in Canadian broadcasting revenues. Companies earning more than $100 million will be subjected to additional obligations, including requirements tied to French-language programming, official-language minority communities and partnerships with Canadian production companies. 

“This was designed so that certain kinds of content would be supported,” Shortcliffe said.

“Broadcasters will be asked instead do direct 30 per cent of their expenditures to enhance partnerships with Canadian productions companies,” he said.

The decision comes as major streaming platform continue to challenge CRTC’s earlier five per cent base contribution in Federal Court of Appeal proceedings.  

When asked by a reporter if the new measure could trigger retaliatory action from the U.S., Shortcliffe said CRTC is simply “applying Canadian law in Canada.”

“We’re not involved in trade negotiations because we’re an arm’s length quasi-judicial tribunal,” he said. “Different jurisdictions impose different things on these companies based on their own individual laws.”

The new policy also introduces a discoverability framework on Canadian and Indigenous content that aims make them more visible for audiences across streaming platforms, including on smart TVs and traditional broadcasters. 

That includes making sure such programs are prominently featured in recommendations, search results, playlists and platform interfaces, instead of just being confined under “Canadian content.”