Liberal government spends $100K compiling directory of media Canadians can ‘trust’
Only government-approved media outlets are eligible for tens of thousands in taxpayer funding.
The Department of Canadian Heritage is funding a new directory of news outlets considered trustworthy and reliable, according to access-to-information records obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The federal government has already spent $100,000 on the three-year Local News Directory project. The initiative’s full budget was censored in released documents.
Researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University, Laval University and Concordia University are compiling the directory, which federal officials say will help policymakers determine where government intervention is required.
“The information will help policymakers and others make more data-informed decisions about where interventions are needed and will help people struggling to find local news they can trust,” read an April 26 department memo.
Another memo said the directory would guide Canadian Heritage’s “policy and program decisions.”
The project will focus on so-called “qualified Canadian journalism organizations,” a Canada Revenue Agency designation used to determine eligibility for federal media subsidies. Qualifying outlets can receive payroll rebates worth up to $29,750 annually for each eligible newsroom employee.
The initiative comes after disclosures that federal departments maintained inconsistent accreditation rules and circulated lists of journalists who could be denied routine access to government officials.
“None of us has criteria that reflect the reality of independent journalists,” an Immigration Department employee wrote in a March 11 email.
Canadian Heritage has also described approved media as a tool for promoting “social cohesion” and countering foreign disinformation.
A September 2025 briefing note warned that foreign-owned platforms, divisive social-media content and overseas influence campaigns were threatening Canada’s “information sovereignty.”
The department singled out the publicly funded CBC as “a pillar of our cultural identity and a cornerstone of our sovereignty.”
The government says its directory will help Canadians locate reliable local reporting.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-09-10 19:24:43 -0400 Flag1984 knocking on our door. This is just another incremental move toward censorship of all opinions. And it’s all for supposed safety. The government doesn’t want to get wrong ideas. They want to supposedly protect us but it’s themselves they’re protecting.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-09-10 15:28:09 -0400 FlagTypical government mentality: spend a small fortune to discover something that we’ve known all along.
I can’t wait for the National Research Council’s Manhattan Project-style investigation that will cost millions, and take several years of concerted effort, to prove that water is wet.
