Canada: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission adopted order establishing temporary Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF)

On 1 August 2025, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a decision conditionally approving the plan submitted by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) for the establishment of the temporary Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF), as part of the implementation of the modernised Broadcasting Act. The decision follows a public consultation that was held from 4 November to 4 December 2024, which invited comments on the CAB’s proposed administration of the CRNF. The fund is designed to provide targeted financial support to commercial radio stations operating outside of Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa-Gatineau, where access to local news is considered more limited. The CRNF initiative complements earlier decisions on base contributions, including Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2024-121, CRTC 2024-121-1, and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2024-194, which collectively form part of the CRTC’s broader regulatory framework to ensure online streaming services contribute to Canadian and Indigenous content. The regulatory policy 2024-121 requires these services to contribute a minimum of 5% of their Canadian revenues to the Canadian broadcasting system. The requirement applies to online streaming services with annual revenue exceeding CAD 25 million.