Changing Narratives Fund

Budget 2024 committed $10M, over 3 years, starting in 2024-2025, to the Department of Canadian Heritage to support the implementation of the Changing Narratives Fund.

The Changing Narratives Fund (CNF) is a new initiative that will support diverse communities (i.e. Indigenous, Black, racialized, ethno-religious minority, people with disabilities and 2SLGBTQI+ communities) to share their stories, experiences, and perspectives so that their voices are accurately and authentically represented in the media, and culture sectors in Canada.

The objective of the CNF is to implement incentives and initiatives that encourage greater participation of diverse communities and organizations in the culture and media sectors. To achieve this objective, the CNF will provide support for mentorship, training and professional development opportunities for diverse communities at all career stages so that members from these communities could increase their participation in the creative sectors.

The funding allocated for the CNF will be distributed through three existing programs to better support diverse communities and organizations in the following industries:

The Canada Media Fund

The Changing Narratives Fund stream of CMF prioritizes projects that foster the development of an inclusive audiovisual sector by providing training and professional development opportunities for diverse communities.

Learn more about the Canada Media Fund programming component.

The Local Journalism Initiative

The Changing Narratives Fund stream of the Local Journalism Initiative prioritizes the hiring of diverse (that is, Indigenous, Black, racialized, ethno-religious minority, people with disabilities and 2SLGBTQI+ communities) journalists in diverse-owned and mainstream news organizations to produce civic journalism for underserved communities. These journalists will take part in mentoring, training, and professional development activities to increase their participation in the media sector at all career stages.

To protect the independence of the press, a not-for-profit organization delivers this stream.

Learn more about the Local Journalism Initiative and its Changing Narratives Fund stream.

Collective Initiatives Component of the Canada Periodical Fund

The Collective Initiatives component of the Canada Periodical Fund prioritizes projects designed to increase the overall sustainability of the Canadian magazine and (non-daily) community newspaper industries.

The Changing Narratives Fund stream prioritizes projects by organizations that support their diverse communities through mentorship, training and professional development opportunities at all career stages in the magazine and newspaper industries. Funding will also be available to diverse-led/mandated organizations for further distribution.

Learn more about Collective Initiatives and its Changing Narratives Fund stream.

Page details

Date modified: