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A fight over streaming helped throw a wrench in trade talks last week. But is this about our attempts to protect Canadian culture -- or America's attempts to protect their tech companies?
CBC News
· Posted: Aug 27, 2026 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
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LISTEN | FRONT BURNER: Front Burner29:40What Big Tech wants out of the trade war
When trade talks between Canada and the U.S. broke down last week, one of the issues that reportedly came up was Canadian streaming rules that require platforms like Netflix to make Canadian and French-language content easier to find in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada would not compromise on protecting French culture. But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said language was never the issue – rather "past discriminatory laws that target U.S. streaming companies."
Vass Bednar is the managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute, and she’s spent years studying how American tech companies shape Canadian policy. She unpacks what Big Tech wants out of these trade talks – and what this latest rupture means for Canada’s digital sovereignty.
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