The news landscape in Canada is facing unprecedented challenges, with a continuing decline in investment towards Canadian news media publications. In 2014, 23.1% of media investment supported Canadian and local news media – within five years, that dropped to a mere 5.7%. In the last 15 years, we’ve lost 473 local news operations across 335 communities.

As representatives of the Canadian Media sector, we are committed to supporting local journalism through our Canadian Media Manifesto. We are asking agencies and marketing leaders to pledge 25% of their total digital advertising investment towards local media. This would mean $380 million in new revenue for local media. It’s more money than Bill C-18 is projected to provide to news organizations, and it will be achieved through industry collaboration.

While this collaborative effort will enable Canadian news publications to deliver high-quality journalism to the public, it will also ensure that marketers can connect with audiences through trusted sources in brand-safe environments.