TikTok is ending its sponsorship of several major Canadian arts organizations, including the Juno Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), as it prepares to shut down its Canadian operations under a federal directive.
The company said it is complying with an order issued by Ottawa last November, which requires TikTok to wind down operations in Canada due to national security concerns. As a result, the company says it will suspend all partnerships and funding initiatives in the country. So, in other words, its offices will close, but the actual TikTok app will remain in Canada. Go figure.
Over the past five years, TikTok opened offices in Toronto and Vancouver and says it invested millions of dollars into supporting local artists and organizations. One of the groups affected is MusiCounts, a music education charity that received $500,000 from TikTok to support high school music programs, according to the Canadian Press.
TikTok had been a sponsor of the Junos since 2020, including the Fan Choice Award, and began working with TIFF in 2022. It supported TIFF’s Short Cuts and Special Presentations programming, as well as industry panels featuring Canadian talent.
“The consequences of Canada’s digital policies continue to unfold. Government oddly targeted TikTok’s corporate presence in Canada rather than the app itself. The result: millions in support for arts groups predictably canceled to comply with the ruling,” reacted University of Ottawa Law Professor, Michael Geist.
According Digital First Canada, which calls itself “A voice for Canadian digital first creators”, it said, “This hurts Canadian Creators. This puts Canadian Creators at a disadvantage globally. This is why Canadian Creators leave Canada. This is happening without explanation. Canadian Entrepreneurs lose and Canada takes a step back in Digital Policy. Again.”
The National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators is also being cut. Nearly 400 participants have taken part in the program since it launched in 2021.
TikTok said earlier this year its contribution to Canadian GDP is estimated at $1.4 billion, according to study from Nordicity.
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