71% of Canadians Back Federal Action Against AI Companies Using News Without Permission
A survey of 2,404 Canadian adults shows strong public support for government intervention to stop artificial intelligence companies from scraping and reusing news content without payment or consent. The online survey, conducted between December 2025 and January 2026, found 71% agreement that Ottawa should act.
News Media Canada, which represents more than 500 news titles across the country, is pushing three specific policy moves.
Three Policy Recommendations
- The Minister of Industry should direct the Competition Bureau to study search and AI markets, potentially splitting Google's crawler into separate systems for AI and search functions.
- The government should clarify that the Copyright Act will not include a text and data mining exception.
- Public Services and Procurement Canada and Treasury Board should require AI suppliers on the federal government's vendor list to commit to transparency, consent, and attribution for copyrighted news content.
Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada, said the government has "immediate concrete steps" available to address what the organization frames as content theft.
The Cost of Journalism
Dave Adsett, chair of News Media Canada and owner of The Wellington Advertiser, said newsroom work requires fact-gathering, fact-checking, editorial review, and legal oversight-all of which cost money.
"We fully support building safe, trusted, and fair AI systems so long as they are not built and maintained at the expense of those who create the underlying intellectual property that feeds them," Adsett said.
For government officials and policymakers weighing these issues, understanding AI's impact on existing industries is critical. Resources like AI Learning Path for Policy Makers can help inform regulatory decisions.
The survey carries a maximum margin of error of ±2.0% at the 95% confidence level.
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