CMF announces $346M Program Budget for 2025–2026

Update: On May 14, 2025, the CMF's total program budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 was revised from $338M to $346M.

Funder expands flexibility, bolsters support for the Children and Youth genre, and supports collaboration between producers, broadcasters, and distributors to maximize financial resources.

Toronto, May 1, 2025 — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced that we will invest $346M in the Canadian audiovisual industry during the fiscal year that started April 1, 2025.

“In 2025–2026 the CMF will expand the flexibility granted to applicants and encourage increased collaboration between producers, broadcasters, and distributors to further evolve the CMF’s funding model to respond to the industry,” says CMF President and CEO Valerie Creighton.

“Despite a lower budget, the CMF is implementing a number of significant initiatives that reflect Canada’s evolving screen industries: increasing support and flexibility for Children and Youth projects to address the unique pressures faced by producers working in this genre, continuing investment in the Distributor Program, enhancing our Interactive Digital Media programs, and shifting the administration of our Indigenous Program to the Indigenous Screen Office [ISO].” 

“The growth and success of Indigenous stories has been remarkable through the investment in the ISO. The transfer of the administration of the CMF’s Indigenous Program to the ISO supports our belief that narrative sovereignty is critical to the continued success of Indigenous storytellers. We are excited to see the authentic stories that will be realized on all platforms through this new collaboration,” adds Creighton.

“It is an exciting next step in the growth of the Indigenous Screen Office to officially administer the CMF’s Indigenous Program. The CMF has been a trusted partner and collaborator since the very beginning of the ISO, and we thank their team for their continued support in this transition. This milestone reinforces our commitment to Indigenous narrative sovereignty, and we look forward to working with our partners to continue expanding opportunities for Indigenous creators,” says Kerry Swanson, CEO, ISO.

“The budget also includes the continuation of the designated funding announced in the 2024 federal budget for equity deserving groups. The communities we serve are grateful for the ongoing support from our private funders and the federal government’s commitment to support Canada’s screen-based sector,” Creighton concludes.

View the breakdown of the 2025-26 CMF Program Budget

The CMF’s program budget is supported by revenue estimates for the coming year based on ongoing funding contributions from the Government of Canada, and contributions from Canada’s cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors (collectively known as broadcasting distribution undertakings or BDUs). Tangible benefits, recoupment, and repayment revenues from funded productions also support the program budget. While this year’s budget reflects a steady contribution from the Government of Canada, the CMF’s overall program budget has decreased due to BDU revenue declines and other key sources of revenue.

Key changes

Key changes in the newly published Program Guidelines are summarized below. Please consult the 2025–2026 Summary of Changes and applicable Program Guidelines for the complete details on each of these items and more.

Access the detailed 2025-2026 Summary of changes

CMF staff will host two Zoom webcasts to provide more information about the changes to CMF Programs and Guidelines on May 6, 2025.

Learn more about the webcasts

Expanded flexibility

• More flexibility in make-up of threshold to unlock CMF funding: To provide more flexible and creative financing approaches, and to encourage increased collaborations between broadcasters, producers, and distributors, broadcasters are no longer required to contribute the larger share of the funding threshold for projects seeking funding through the Broadcaster Envelope Program. The amount contributed by broadcasters and distributors to meet threshold can be flexible based on the specific needs of each project.

Supporting Children and Youth content

• Carve-outs in Distributor Program: Producers that create Children and Youth content will have a guaranteed minimum amount of funding to access in a program where a broadcaster is not required to unlock CMF funds.
• Evaluation grid points and carve-outs in many production-stage programs: To support Children and Youth projects more broadly across our programs, evaluation grid points and carve-outs in linear and interactive digital media (IDM) programs will help projects compete for funding.
• International contribution to CMF threshold for production-stage Children and Youth projects: Non-Canadian broadcasters and streamers will be allowed to contribute up to 25 per cent of the minimum financial commitment threshold required to unlock CMF funds for Children and Youth projects in production, with a Canadian broadcaster and/or distributor making up the primary 75 per cent share of the threshold.
• Lower thresholds: Thresholds for Children and Youth projects across many CMF linear production-stage programs will be lowered.
• Increased maximum contribution in Broadcaster Envelope–Development for English- and French-language projects: Maximum contribution for development-stage Children and Youth projects (both regional and non-regional) will be the lesser of 75 per cent of the project’s budget or $200,000 (up from 50 per cent or $200,000).

Changes to Interactive Digital Media (IDM) programs

• Further distinguishing the Innovation and Experimentation Program from the Commercial Projects Program: The Innovation and Experimentation Program will now offer a track for lower-budget projects. The Commercial Projects Program will include concrete audience engagement criteria as part of its selective evaluation process.
• Introducing mechanisms to better manage demand for IDM programs: The CMF will cap both the number of submitted applications (per program and funding round) and active CMF files attached to each applicant. We will also introduce a two-step evaluation process for our Prototyping Program.
• Introducing funding caps across the country: We will implement a new policy where recipients from any one region in Canada will not receive more than 60 per cent of total IDM program funding per year. 

Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) to administer the CMF’s Indigenous Program

• Applicants will now apply through the ISO: The ISO will now review applications for eligibility, select, and directly contract projects for funding.
• Rules and policies: The CMF and ISO will continue to collaborate on revising the rules and policies of the Indigenous Program, ensuring it continues to meet the needs of the Indigenous production community. Changes include revisions to the production sub-program’s evaluation grid and changing the development and predevelopment sub-program’s evaluation method from first-come/first-served to a selective process. 

Access the detailed 2025-2026 Summary of changes

About the Canada Media Fund   
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances, and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voices, and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors.

Media contact

Maxime Ruel
Senior Manager, Communications
[email protected]