Requiem for a Century? Canadian Broadcasting Policy, Online Streaming Service Regulation, and Cultural Sovereignty in the Digital Age

Abstract

Canada’s broadcasting policy debate reignited with the 2023 Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11), which brought streaming platforms under the nation’s cultural policy apparatus. Historically, Canadian broadcasting policy has sought to support both the economy and culture of the nation-state through regulating radio and television; however, the transnational media landscape of the twenty-first century, marked by the rise of American-based streaming services, has disrupted this regime.

This research historicizes Canadian broadcasting policy debates while examining reactions to the Online Streaming Act: framed as necessary government intervention, an invocation of twentieth-century cultural nationalism, or somewhere in between. Analyzing media discourses alongside political texts, this thesis argues that while the Online Streaming Act is often articulated to the preservation of cultural sovereignty in the digital age, efforts to future-proof broadcasting policy remain tethered to enduring tensions over nation-building, cultural expression, and normative regulatory philosophy in Canada.