Canada’s radio and TV broadcast sector shed 1,100 jobs in just one year in 2024, according to the latest report from Canadian Media Means Business (CMMB).
The consortium of media organizations, which includes Adapt Media, Bell Media, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Cogeco, Friends of Canadian Media, Glacier Media Group, La Presse, Pattison Media, ThinkTV and Village Media, has released its second study on the media and advertising sector.
CMMB, which commissioned Nordicity to analyze Statistics Canada data, says the sector reached a “critical watershed” in 2024, navigating profound structural changes which triggered severe workforce contractions.
While jobs in advertising, public relations and information services grew by a combined 2,500 positions, newspaper, periodical and directory publishing shed 1,800 jobs, in addition to 1,100 on the broadcast side. Specifically, 600 journalists and 400 news editors lost their roles between 2023 and 2024.
That contraction was felt most severely in Western Canada, where collectively B.C., Alberta and Manitoba lost 5,310 jobs and $710 million in GDP over 12 months. Manitoba was especially hard-hit, losing 46.5% of its media workforce. In contrast, Quebec gained 1,950 jobs, which CMMB says proves that cultural protection policies can translate into economic resilience. Nova Scotia also saw growth, with jobs rising by 95.5% to reach 1,310 positions, largely due to expanded provincial incentives.
CMMB says while the media industry continued to support 137,600 direct jobs, the report makes a direct link between industry contraction and the outflow of digital advertising dollars to foreign platforms, which reached 94% in 2024 (up from 76% in 2017).
“Foreign tech platforms are siphoning our ad dollars and starving Canadian media,” said Sarah Thompson, Project Leader, CMMB. “This industry is a massive economic engine, yet we are bleeding capital while the broader ad market grows. Canadian media demands sovereignty and investment, not surrender.”
“Think about it this way: for every $100 a brand spends on advertising in this country, $74 immediately leaves Canada,” added Thompson. “We are only keeping $26 to fund our own local news, our creators, and our jobs. We are losing control of quality advertising environments for Canadian advertisers to connect with customers and grow their businesses.”
