The federal government must spend advertising dollars on local media
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But that’s exactly what they’re doing when it comes to advertising.
This ill-informed tax break has had next to no impact on the Canadian economy — if anything, it has been more of a pain for retailers to implement than a benefit to them — and should have been allowed to die a quiet death.
But if the government insists on shoving its failed policy into the face of consumers, you’d think it would use Canadian companies to do so, especially right now.
But the federal government has thousands of choices to reach citizens with its messages: local media outlets. And citizens want to see those messages in their local media.
And it’s not just because they’re Canadian; it’s because they trust the ads they see there.
According to the survey, 63 per cent of Canadians trust advertising in newspapers and their online platforms, while just 28 per cent trust ads they see on Facebook/Instagram. More than half of those surveyed (58 per cent) said newspapers and news sites are their preferred medium to receive information about federal government programs and initiatives, while only 17 per cent chose Facebook/Instagram.
“The Government of Canada’s decision to resume advertising with Meta is a real kick in the shins to independent publishers across Canada,” said Dave Adsett, publisher of the Wellington Advertiser and chair of News Media Canada. “Disinformation travels faster than the truth, and it sends the wrong signal to local advertisers when the government is rewarding a company that is unwilling to fact check information on its own platforms.”
“News publishers call on the federal government to follow the Government of Ontario’s lead and support the home team by earmarking 25 per cent of their advertising budget to trusted news sources,” said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada.
“Now is the time to choose Canada,” Trudeau said Feb. 1.
We couldn’t agree more. Now do it, prime minister.
This article first appeared as an editorial in the St. Albert Gazette. It is republished here with permission