A group of Canadian podcast companies, producers and audio storytellers have written an open letter to Canadian Identity and Culture Min. Steven Guilbeault appealing to the federal government to recognize podcasting as a core cultural industry.
Sent this week, among the letter’s signatories are Jen Moss and Roger Nairn, the Co-Founders of Vancouver-headquartered branded content studio, JAR Audio; Steve Pratt, Founder of The Creativity Business; Scott Benzie, Executive Director of online content advocacy organization, Digital First Canada; Chris Kelly, Co-Founder of Vancouver-based boutique creative agency, Kelly&Kelly; Fatima Zaidi, Founder & CEO of podcast production agency, Quill, and podcast audience insights platform, CoHost; and Kattie Laur, Editor of Pod the North.
Writing “with both urgency and optimism,” the group says while podcasting in Canada “is exploding — creatively, culturally, and commercially,” it remains virtually unsupported by federal cultural policy and funding.
“That’s a critical gap — but one we can close together,” the group writes, supplying both global and Canadian stats indicating 12 million adults (39%) in Canada currently listen to podcasts monthly (The Podcast Exchange), with Francophone listenership growing 65% from 2019-2023 (Triton 2024 Canadian Podcast Report). The average Canadian listener now consumes 3.6 hours of podcast content a week across five shows and eight episodes (Triton 2024 Canadian Podcast Report). The group also points to a lack of clear data on how many Canadians are earning income through podcasting, suggesting inclusion in a future Labour Force Survey would help bring clarity.
The letter says while the Canadian industry, the local talent pool and overall podcast listening is growing, a large proportion of podcast listening still goes to international podcasts, citing 2024 Canadian Podcast Listener data, indicating Canadian podcasts account for 43% of domestic podcast listening, while just 30% of the study’s Top 30 podcasts originate from Canada.
“With CRTC hearings underway to modernize CanCon, podcasting’s continued exclusion leaves a glaring gap in Canadian cultural policy,” the letter states. “Meanwhile, as Meta restricts access to journalism, podcasts are one of the few remaining open platforms for trusted news, long-form storytelling, and local and diverse voices.”
“Podcasting is also absorbing talent displaced from traditional media,” it continued. “Numerous trained journalists, editors, students, and producers are entering the space—but without infrastructure to support sustainable careers in podcasting telling Canadian stories.”
The letter goes on to say that authentic Canadian stories are “drowning in a sea of stories about innovation, finance, and big tech.”
“Without public support, we risk losing access to powerful Canadian stories, civic journalism, and inclusive narratives that reflect who we are—and who we want to be.”
Canadian podcasts ‘shut out’ of major funding streams
The group says despite a clear “creative, social, and economic case,” Canadian podcasts are still shut out of major funding streams with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) excluding audio-only formats and video podcasts, and the Canada Council offering very limited support for arts-driven podcasts, with few grants covering full production or promotion.
“And while CBC/Radio-Canada is essential, it can’t be the only path to high-quality Canadian audio that is funded well enough to compete in the market,” the letter states. “Right now, podcast funding in Canada risks becoming the digital equivalent of a company town — where one main outlet basically controls access, resources, and opportunity.”
“Yes, Canada invests in public broadcasting – thank goodness! But very little of that reaches the growing network of professional Canadian podcast production companies, or the bustling community of independent and diverse podcast creators,” it continued. “There’s an opportunity for the government to recognize podcasting as its own medium—with its own ecosystem, audience, and multi-tiered economic model. Right now, professional podcasting falls between the cracks: too commercial for arts councils, too new to be truly embraced by broadcasting policy, and too decentralized for traditional funding models.”
Call to action
The group is urging Min. Guilbeault and the Department of Canadian Heritage to update CMF eligibility criteria to explicitly include podcasting in all its formats; establish a new federal podcast fund to support independent Canadian podcast creation — both audio and video-based; and launch national consultations to co-develop a future-ready policy framework.
“Canadian podcasting is bold, diverse, and globally competitive. With the right support, we can ensure this cultural engine continues to grow, innovate, and tell long-form, nuanced Canadian stories to the world — on every platform,” the letter concluded.
