The federal government has spent more than $5.3 million on an advertising campaign designed to “transform Canadian patriotism,” according to a new parliamentary disclosure.

The figures were revealed in a response to an Order Paper Question from Conservative MP Tim Uppal (Edmonton Gateway), answered January 26.

The Privy Council Office confirmed it allocated $5.55 million and spent $5,349,488.75 on advertising campaigns since 2022, all routed through the Prime Minister’s Office.

Go Ad Free

Two major ad blitzes carried the same stated goal:

“Transform Canadian patriotism from passive to active and embed the idea of ‘choosing Canada’ into everything we do as a nation. Buy, support, embrace and explore all things Canada.”

The first campaign ran March 21 to March 31, 2025, costing $2,516,939.87. The second ran October 6 to October 29, 2025, costing $2,832,548.88 — in the lead-up to the federal election.

The ads ran across TV, connected TV, digital audio, Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and programmatic digital platforms.

Contracts for the campaign went to:

• M5 Marketing Communications for creative production and media planning ($567,000)
• Essencemediacom Canada for media buying ($2.095 million and $2.75 million)

Both media buying contracts were awarded through competitive bids, while the creative contract was a call-up against a standing offer.

Instead of cutting taxes or fixing affordability, Ottawa chose to spend millions telling Canadians how to feel about their country. While families were tightening their grocery budgets, the federal government was busy trying to reprogram patriotism — one TikTok ad at a time.