The Independent Press Gallery (IPG) is condemning the Canadian Media Producers Association for openly demonstrating that federal media bailouts are being used to purchase political favour rather than support independent journalism or cultural production.
On January 29, 2026, footage obtained from a now-deleted livestream broadcast by CPAC captured Reynolds Mastin, CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association, telling Prime Minister Mark Carney that the 180,000 people working in his industry “have your back.” This was not a neutral remark. It was a declaration of political allegiance by an industry that depends on federal funding to survive. That segment was later removed from the versions circulated online by CPAC and CMPA.
The video was cited publicly by Rachael Thomas at the Conservative Party of Canada convention as evidence that Canada’s taxpayer-subsidized media sector has ceased to function independently of the government that finances it.
IPG condemns the Canadian Media Producers Association for this blatant abdication of its duty to the Canadian public. By framing its workforce as a political support base for the governing party, CMPA has stripped away any remaining pretense of independence. It has revealed that media bailouts are not about culture, creativity, or journalism. They are about access, loyalty, and protection.
The Liberal Government now spends nearly $2 billion annually on public broadcasting and media subsidy programs. This has produced a media class that is financially dependent on the politicians it is supposed to scrutinize. The result is not accountability. It is compliance.
IPG further condemns the selective editing of a parliamentary broadcast to conceal this political alignment from the public. This conduct transforms a public service broadcaster into a propaganda outlet and erodes public trust in democratic institutions.
A press that pledges loyalty to power is not free.
A press that lives on government subsidies is not independent.
And a press that hides its political alliances is not credible.
The Independent Press Gallery of Canada calls for an immediate review of federal media subsidy programs and an end to financial arrangements that entangle media organizations with the political class they are meant to hold to account.
A free press cannot survive on a government leash.
Sheila Gunn Reid
President, Independent Press Gallery
www.IndependentPressGallery.com