Application Guidelines – Special Measures for Journalism – Canada Periodical Fund
New application deadline: July 26, 2024, 23:59 p.m. (local time)
On this page
- Objectives and expected results for the Canada Periodical Fund
- Objectives and expected results for the Special Measures for Journalism component
- Application deadline
- Who can apply
- Eligibility
- Eligible projects
- Eligible expenses
- Limits of government assistance
- How to apply
- Application process
- How applications are evaluated
- Evaluation criteria
- Application processing time
- Funding decisions
- How funding is provided
- Funding conditions
- Anti-racism and anti-hate
- Workplace well-being
- Official languages requirements
- Acknowledgement of financial assistance
- Access to information requests
- Disclosure of information
- Audits of recipients and evaluation of the Program
- Contact us
- Glossary
Objectives and expected results for the Canada Periodical Fund
The Canada Periodical Fund provides financial support to Canadian print magazines, print community (non-daily) newspapers and digital periodicals, to enable them to overcome market disadvantages. The Fund ensures Canadians have access to diverse Canadian editorial content in print magazines, print community newspapers and digital periodicals.
Objectives and expected results for the Special Measures for Journalism component
The Special Measures for Journalism component provides funds to Canadian magazines and community newspapers. The Special Measures for Journalism component will provide funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to publishers that have a free circulation model or low levels of paid circulation, or are published in digital format. Please note that daily newspapers are not eligible for this component.
The component provides a flexibility to allow publishers to direct funds to the areas of greatest need. Recipients can spend the funds on a variety of publishing activities, such as content creation, production, distribution, or business development.
Application deadline
July 26, 2024, 23:59p.m. (local time)
When an application deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday, it is extended to the following working day.
Who can apply
Publishing firms producing magazines and community (non-daily) newspapers, in print or digital formats, can apply.
To be eligible, you must meet all eligibility criteria for both the publishing firm and your periodical until March 31, 2025.
Eligible publishing firms
To be eligible for funding, your publishing firm must:
- be a private-sector entity, which includes corporations, not-for-profit organizations, partnerships and sole proprietorships;
- be majority owned and controlled by Canadians;
- have its principal place of business in Canada; and
- have published one or more eligible periodicals at the application deadline.
Eligible periodicals
To be eligible for funding, your magazine or community (non-daily) newspaper must:
- be published by an eligible publishing firm;
- be owned and controlled by Canadians;
- be a magazine or community (non-daily) newspaper, in print or digital format;
- have completed at least one uninterrupted 12-month publishing cycle at the application deadline, and continue to be published until at least March 31, 2025;
- contain an average of at least 80% Canadian editorial content in the issues published during the publisher's financial year. Official-language minority, Indigenous, ethnocultural, and 2SLGBTQI+ publications must contain an average of at least 50% Canadian editorial content in the issues published during the financial year of the application;
- contain a maximum of 70% advertising in the issues published during the financial year;
- contain a majority of original content;
- have a minimum of $2,500 of eligible expenses for Canadian editorial content; and
- be edited, designed, assembled and published in Canada.
Print magazines and newspapers must:
- have a verifiable method of distribution; and
- have published between two and 52 regular issues and no more than 56 issues during the financial year, including special issues.
Digital magazines and community (non-daily) newspapers must:
- be available through a valid URL, an app for download, email format, or a third-party publishing platform and provide access to the program;
- maintain a regular publishing schedule in which the majority of editorial content changes at least twice during a 12-month period;
- contain over 50% original editorial content, not reproduced from another website, publication or previous issues of the same publication;
- maintain an editorial function where the editor is named and the date of publication of the article is identified;
- regularly present written editorial content from more than one person;
- generate revenues (e.g. subscription revenues, advertising sales, etc.); and
- present a clearly displayed masthead or contact page that includes, at minimum, the names of the publisher and editor in addition to the postal address for the publication.
The following periodicals are ineligible under the Special Measures for Journalism component:
- Recipients of Canada Periodical Fund – Aid to Publishers funding for the same fiscal year;
- Daily newspapers;
- Non stand-alone inserts to newspapers (daily or non-daily);
- Newsletters;
- Websites, blogs and social media platforms;
- Periodicals produced by or for an organization that primarily reports on the activities or promotes the interests of the organization;
- Periodicals produced by or for an organization providing goods or services in which the main goal of the periodical is to promote the sales of the goods or services;
- Periodicals produced under contract by a non-Canadian organization on behalf of a Canadian client;
- Periodicals produced under contract by a Canadian organization for a non-Canadian client;
- Periodicals produced by or for an organization that promotes the organization's main business, when it is not periodical publishing;
- Professional association periodicals;
- Academic publications;
- Periodicals produced by or for a government, a Crown Corporation, or a government agency;
- Periodicals whose editorial content is primarily reproduced or repeated from current or previous issues of the same periodical or other publications;
- Loose-leaf periodicals;
- Periodicals with editorial content that is made up of more than 50% of the following, singly or in combination: listings, catalogues, magalogues, directories, guides, financial reports, schedules, calendars, timetables, comic books, cartoons, puzzles, games and horoscopes; and
- Periodicals that contain offensive content in the opinion of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Eligibility
We are responsible for determining publisher and periodical eligibility.
Eligible projects
The component provides a flexibility to allow publishers to direct funds to the areas of greatest need. Recipients can spend the funds on a variety of publishing activities, such as content creation, production, distribution, or business development.
Eligible expenses
Financial support can be spent to support cash expenses related to a range of activities such as:
- creation (writing, editing, photography, illustration and design);
- production (pre-press and printing);
- marketing;
- distribution;
- website development and enhancement (including content development, and enhancements to the site's architecture and functionality); or
- production of a digital periodical associated with an eligible print periodical.
Financial support must be spent for expenses that occur during this fiscal year (from April 1, 2024 and March 31 2025). You may be required to return any part of the financial support not spent by the end of that period.
Ineligible expenses include:
- dividends, bonuses and other compensation for company shareholders or owners.
Limits of government assistance
To ensure the success of your project, we encourage you to have other sources of funding. This may include contributions from your organization, the private sector or other levels of government.
The maximum amount that can be awarded to an eligible publication is $150,000 and the minimum that can be awarded to an eligible publication is $1,500.
The total financial assistance received from Special Measures for Journalism and other levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) cannot exceed 75% of any publisher's total expenditures for the creation, production, marketing and distribution of magazines and community newspapers for the current fiscal year.
How to apply
Read these Application Guidelines in their entirety before completing your application.
When completing the application form, you must report on the publishing activities that occurred during the publishing firm's twelve (12) month financial year that ends on a date within the period of April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024.
You must meet all eligibility requirements and submit a complete application package to be considered for funding. A complete application package can be submitted online through the Canada Periodical Fund - Special Measures for Journalism portal, and the following supporting documents will be required:
- Proof of the organization’s legal status (e.g. articles of incorporation);
- Proof of signing authority;
- A voided blank cheque or a Direct Deposit Enrollment Request form (if you have not received funding from Canadian Heritage in the last two years);
- A marked-up copy of the last regular issue of the financial year; and
- The most recent regular issue.
Marked-up copy of the last regular issue of the financial year
- Use a PDF version of your magazine and digitally mark-up the file following the instructions below. Upload the marked-up PDF to the “Supporting Documents” section.
OR
- Use a hard copy of your magazine and mark it up using a black marker following the instructions below. Upload a scanned copy to the “Supporting Document” section.
You must identify all images and text on each page of the last regular issue of the financial year using the following codes:
- C Canadian editorial content
- F Foreign editorial content
- A Advertising pages
- N Non-revenue pages
- L Listings (please specify if the content is Canadian (CL) or Foreign (FL))
Please mark ALL images, photographs, graphics, illustrations and text separately.
Calculate the number of pages or fraction of pages for each type of content by rounding off to the nearest whole number. Enter the result for each type of content in the "Marked-up Issue" section of the application form.
For verification purposes, we may request additional marked-up copies, which must be provided.
Additional information and documents can be requested to determine the eligibility of a periodical, such as:
- circulation reports or printing invoices;
- financial statements; and
- copies of the publication.
Eligible organizations will also be required to attest the following in order to receive support:
- That the publication will remain in operation at the time of application and plan to continue contributing to their sector in the future;
- That the applicant is not receiving funding from other sources to cover the same costs of provincial or federal governmental funding.
Application process
Your application, including all supporting documents, must be submitted electronically through the Canadian Heritage Online System.
Your online application must be submitted by 23:59 p.m. (local time)
Should you be unable to access the online system or apply online for any reason, please contact us using the information in the Contact Us section below.
How applications are evaluated
Funding is distributed proportionally according to the total of eligible editorial expenses of each recipient.
Failure to comply with any conditions of a previously funded periodical will be considered in the evaluation of your new application and could result in a rejection of your new application.
Evaluation criteria
The amount of a grant awarded to a publication will be determined by a formula that allocates one or multiple fixed envelopes to all approved publications based on each publication’s share of the total amount of editorial expenses incurred during one year. For example, a publication responsible for 2% of the total editorial expenses by all of the approved publications in the year will receive approximately 2% of a fixed envelope.
Application processing time
Please refer to the Service standards for Canadian Heritage funding programs or contact the Program.
An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you by email automatically following the submission of your funding application via the Portal.Funding decisions
Please note that decisions regarding eligibility and funding amounts are final.
How funding is provided
Your funding will be disbursed as a grant.
A grant is a payment issued to a recipient based on established criteria. The conditions you agreed to at the time of application will apply. At the end of your project, you may be required to submit a report and/or participate in the evaluation of results.
Funding conditions
Any of the following changes to your organization or publication(s) during the funding period may render your organization ineligible:
- Name of publishing firm
- Title of periodical
- Periodical ceases publishing
- Insolvency - Assignment in bankruptcy
- Sale of periodical or publishing firm
Should shares or assets of your periodical or publishing firm be sold, merged or by any other means transferred, resulting in a change of control of the specific periodical or of the specific firm, the following applies:
- We must be advised before the transaction is finalized, to determine whether the periodical and new owner remain eligible.
- If applicable, it is the entire responsibility of the parties to agree on the value of the assets to be sold, which includes any financial type of support received from us.
- The current owner must send a copy of the sale contract to us. The contract must specify the intention of both parties.
- The publishing firms must sign an Assignment and Assumption Agreement, and the new owner must submit proof that it is Canadian-owned and controlled. Otherwise, it will cease to be eligible to the funding. Contact us to obtain an Assignment and Assumption Agreement.
All or part of the financial support will have to be reimbursed if the periodical or the publishing firm ceases to be eligible during any part of this fiscal year, from April 1st, 2024 and March 31st, 2025.
Prior to the release of a payment, you must pay any outstanding amount to the Receiver General. If you fail to comply with the obligations related to prior funding, including repayment requirements, your future applications for funding may be rejected.
Anti-racism and anti-hate
Canadian Heritage is committed to address systemic racism, promote diversity, and create environments where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered. We strive to challenge discriminatory beliefs and practices, cultivate understanding and empathy, and champion policies and programs that advance equality for all.
Organizations receiving funding, including any representatives whether employees, consultants, or other persons directly affiliated with the organization, must take steps to ensure they respect the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy.
Workplace well-being
The Government of Canada is strongly committed to promoting healthy workplaces where harassment, abuse and discrimination are not tolerated. Organizations that receive funding from Canadian Heritage must take measures to create a workplace free from harassment, abuse and discrimination.
Official languages requirements
We are committed to taking positive measures to enhance the vitality of official-language minority communities and to promote the use of English and French in Canadian society. If you receive funding, you agree to comply with the official languages requirements set out in your application.
Acknowledgement of financial assistance
If you receive funding, you must publicly acknowledge – in English and/or in French – the financial support received from the Government of Canada in all communications materials and promotional activities. Additional requirements may be requested by the program.
For additional information, please refer to our Guide on the public acknowledgement of financial support.
Access to information requests
We are subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The information you submit in your application may be disclosed in accordance with these Acts.
Disclosure of information
By submitting your funding application, you authorize us to disclose any information submitted with this application within the Government of Canada or to outside entities for the following purposes:
- to reach a decision;
- to evaluate the results of the project;
- to support transparency, accountability and citizen engagement.
Audits of recipients and evaluation of the Program
We reserve the right to audit your accounts and records to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the program. We also conduct periodic Program evaluations, during which you may be required to present documentation.
You must keep any records, documents, or other information that may be required to perform the audit or the evaluation for five years. Demonstrated failure to maintain such records may result in the repayment of amounts previously received.
Contact us
For further information, please contact us:
Special Measures for Journalism
Canada Periodical Fund
Department of Canadian Heritage
- Address
- 25 Eddy Street, 25-8-U
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4B5 - fondsdesperiodiquescanada-canadaperiodicalfund@pch.gc.ca
- Telephone
- 1-866-811-0055 (toll free)
- TTY
- 1-888-997-3123
Agents are available to answer your questions Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST).
Glossary
- Advertising pages
- Include paid advertising, contra or in-kind advertisements and advertorial, but does not include charitable, public service, house advertisements, the masthead or other non-revenue pages.
- Advertorial content
- Content of a periodical that promotes or presents the interests, opinions, services or products of an advertiser in a similar style, format and payout as the editorial content. Advertorial content is considered to be advertising.
- Articles of incorporation
- A legal document filed with a provincial or territorial government, or the federal government, which sets out a corporation's purpose and regulations.
- Arts and literary periodical
- A periodical that fosters awareness of the arts and literature and nurtures the vitality of Canadian cultural expression in Canada.
- Average circulation
- The average circulation is the total number of copies circulated during the financial year divided by the total number of issues published during that financial year.
- Blog
- Website on which an Internet user maintains a personal column or dedicated to a particular subject or exchanges on personal experiences.
- Business number
- A Business Number is a unique 9-digit number assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). A sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, trust or other organization must enter their Business number on the application form in "Publishing Firm Information" section. Register your business on the CRA website.
- Canadian editorial content
- Editorial content (text and photographs, graphics and illustrations) created or translated by a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or a participant to a federal or provincial program that provides work experiences or internships to individuals. Translated editorial content by a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada within the meaning of this Act will be considered Canadian editorial content if the editorial content is translated into one of the two official languages. Translation does not modify the nature of the editorial content.
- Canadian ownership and control
-
To be eligible, a publishing firm or periodical must be majority owned and controlled by a Canadian. For the Canada Periodical Fund, "Canadian" means:
- a Canadian citizen
- a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- a Canadian corporation; a partnership, trust or joint venture in which a Canadian or permanent resident or any combination of Canadians and/or permanent residents beneficially owns and controls, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 51% of the total value of the assets of the partnership, trust or joint venture, as the case may be. The president or other presiding officer, and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are also Canadians or permanent residents
- a not-for-profit organization in which at least 51% of its members and directors are Canadians or permanent residents
If at any time one or more persons who are not Canadian have any direct or indirect influence through a trust, an agreement, an arrangement or otherwise that, if exercised, would lead to a control in fact of the publishing firm, the firm will no longer be recognized as Canadian-owned.
"Canadian corporation" is one that meets the following criteria:
- a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada, a province or a territory
- a corporation whose principal place of business is in Canada
- a corporation whose president or other presiding officer, and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- a corporation, in the case of a corporation with share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own and control, other than by way of shares held only as security, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate at least 51% of all the issued and outstanding voting shares representing more than half of the votes
- a corporation, in the case of a corporation without share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own and control, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 51% of the total value of the assets
As an exception to the requirement for both Canadian ownership and Canadian control, publishing firms that are owned by Canadians and have operated in Canada as a publisher of periodicals for at least thirty years will be considered eligible even if they are not Canadian-controlled.
- Circulation report
-
A circulation report issued by an accepted audit circulation board that reports on the volume of circulation by source, circulation type by breakout, frequency, locations of distribution and selling price for a magazine or non-daily newspaper during a specific period.
We accept reports from the following audit circulation boards:
- Canadian Circulations Audit Board (CCAB/BPA), a division of BPA Worldwide
- Alliance for Audited Media (AAM)
- Canadian Media Circulation Audit (CMCA)
- Consumer periodical
-
A periodical aimed at the public, of two types:
- general interest: dealing with broad topics likely to be of interest to anyone, such as news, general history and entertainment
- special interest: dealing with niche topics, such as hobbies, cooking, sports, and countless other topics
- Digital periodical
- Is defined as a publication that primarily text, photographic, and illustrated editorial content is delivered through a website, download or email, and that is published on a regularly scheduled basis under a common title and governed by an editorial function (editor).
- Digital non-replica periodical
- A periodical that is the digital version of a print magazine but whose content is at least 50% original.
- Editorial content
- The space in a periodical, excluding advertising and non-revenue pages, which consists of original text, images, photographs, graphics and illustrations.
- Ethnocultural periodical
-
A periodical that primarily serves or is primarily concerned with a commonly recognized specific cultural or racially distinct community or specific linguistic group using other than Canada's official languages.
An eligible ethnocultural periodical may be published in any language.
- Farm periodical
- A periodical aimed at the farming industry, including animal farming.
- Financial year
- Refers to the publishing firm's consecutive twelve-month financial year.
- Fiscal year (of the Government)
- Refers to the federal government fiscal year, which starts on April 1 of a given year and ends on March 31 of the following year.
- Foreign editorial content
- Editorial content (text and images) created or translated by a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. If the creator or translator is unknown, or if the citizenship cannot be determined, the editorial content is deemed foreign.
- Free circulation
- Copies distributed free of charge.
- Indigenous periodical
- A periodical that is primarily targeted to and concerned with serving First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
- International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- An internationally agreed upon standard number that uniquely identifies a publication. It is assigned by the ISSN Network.
- 2SLGBTQI+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse) periodical
- A periodical that primarily serves or is primarily concerned with the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse communities.
- Listings
- A series of words, numbers, paragraphs, photos or other items, which may include descriptions, opinions or analysis. Examples: stock listings, sports scores and standings, television listings, product descriptions and restaurant descriptions.
- Farm periodical
- A periodical aimed at the farming industry, including animal farming.
- Magazine
- A print periodical that is commonly recognized as a magazine, is paginated and bound, appears in consecutively numbered or dated issues, is published under a common title at regular intervals and may possess an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).
- Masthead
- The section of a periodical which lists information on the staff, the publisher, the editorial board, and provides contact information.
- Newsletter
-
A publication, typically by a business, institution, or other organization, that presents information and news to members, customers, or employees with a specific interest in the organization or subject.
A newsletter attributes include the following but may not be limited to:
- No cover page – articles start immediately
- Unbound
- Fewer than 20 pages
- No table of contents
- No list of authors
- No full masthead
- No regular editorial columns or letter to the editor
- Part of a continued series.
Newsletters are not eligible for funding under Special Measures for Journalism component.
- Newspaper
-
A print periodical scoring six or more points on the following scale is a newspaper. Specifications Points 1. Broadsheet format, tabloid format or outsized (larger than 8-1/2 x 11 inches) 2 2. Unbound 3 3. Printed on any type of newsprint 1 4. Identified as a newspaper 1 5. Cover subdivided (articles, boxed photos) 1 6. Advertising on front cover 1 7. Divided into detachable regular sections, such as news, analysis, entertainment, sports 1 Total /10 - Non-daily newspaper
- A print and non-bound periodical that primarily circulates local or regional information on a geographically defined territory or on information on the basis of common interests (e.g.: farm, ethnocultural, official-language minority, religious), published under a common name at regular intervals, and no more than once a week.
- Non-revenue pages
- All pages other than advertising pages, contra or editorial. They can include self-promotional pages, pages donated to local charities or businesses, delivery of in-kind services, etc. Blank pages are considered to be non-revenue pages.
- Offensive content
-
Periodicals or projects that, in our opinion, contain or promote any of the following:
- material that is hate propaganda, obscene or child pornography, or any other illegal material, as defined in the Criminal Code
- pornography or other material having significant sexual content unless it can be demonstrated that there is an overriding educational or other similar purpose
- material that contains excessive or gratuitous violence
- material that is denigrating to an identifiable group
- any other similarly offensive material
Periodicals that contain offensive content, in our opinion, are not eligible for funding under the Special Measures for Journalism component.
- Official-language minority periodical
- A periodical that is published in English or French, in a region of Canada where the language and content of the periodical primarily serves and is concerned with an official language minority community (a Francophone community outside of Quebec or an English-speaking community in Quebec).
- Original content
- Editorial content created for the Canadian market that has not previously been published elsewhere in Canada or abroad, including websites and other Canadian or foreign periodicals.
- Paid circulation
- Copies of a magazine or non-daily newspaper sold through subscriptions, single-copies/ newsstand sales and sponsored copies.
- Professional association periodical
-
A professional association periodical meets all the following conditions:
- is directly owned by an association
- membership in the association is necessary to maintain a professional status which is recognized by a federal or provincial statute
- membership in the association includes paying professional dues which are deductible under subparagraph 8(1)(i) (i) of the Income Tax Act
Professional association periodicals are not eligible for funding under the Special Measures for Journalism component.
- Publishing cycle
- The number of issues of a periodical, pre-determined by the publishing firm, that are published during the 12-month financial year.
- Religious periodical
- A periodical that is primarily religious in purpose and content.
- Request circulation - Direct request copies
- Copies of magazines that are individually addressed to recipients who have directly requested the periodical from a publishing firm using written, telephone, email or fax request.
- Scholarly journal
- A magazine, aimed at specialists, which presents results of research in a specific field for disseminating knowledge.
- Special issue
-
An insert or a combination of two issues is not considered as a special issue. A special issue:
- is published within the regular publishing cycle
- is an additional issue, sent separately, that focuses on a specific theme or topic
- has a title and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) common to the host periodical
- has its cost included in the subscription cost
- Sponsored content
- A specific and distinct section of content that is sponsored by a single advertiser. The sponsored content will often match the subject matter, as well as the targeted audience. Sponsored content is considered to be advertising.
- Sponsored copies
- Copies purchased by a sponsor for distribution to targeted consumers.
- Subscriber
- An individual who has knowingly paid or undertaken to pay for a subscription to a periodical, to be delivered over a specified period.
- Trade magazine
- A magazine that is targeted to workers in a particular field of employment, usually using request circulation. Also known as a business, business-to-business, or professional magazine.
- Volunteer
- An individual working on behalf of others without receiving financial or material gain.
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