Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller is set to travel to Paris next week for an intergovernmental committee meeting at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller told MPs on Thursday that Ottawa is looking favourably at voting to extend the scope of a United Nations cultural convention so it applies to the digital environment.
Mr. Miller is to travel to Paris next week for an intergovernmental committee meeting at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. There, member states are expected to vote on a protocol extending the 20-year-old convention, which reaffirms the rights of states to adopt policies to protect cultural sovereignty.
The recommendations include proposed revisions to better reflect the impact of artificial intelligence on cultural and creative industries.
The Bloc Québécois said Thursday that federal government support for the new protocol would help bolster Canadian and Quebec culture in the face of influence from American tech giants.
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The United States has already raised serious objections to two laws passed by the previous Liberal government, including one that requires foreign digital streaming companies such as Netflix and Apple to promote and financially support Canadian content, such as films, TV shows and music. The Online Streaming Act also includes measures to bolster and promote francophone Canadian culture.
The second, the Online News Act, requires Google, which enables people to search for news on its platform, to provide financial support for Canadian journalism outlets.
Both bills are regarded as trade irritants by the U.S. and are being discussed as part of bilateral trade negotiations.
The Trump administration has announced its decision to withdraw from UNESCO at the end of 2026. It has accused the UN organization of working “to advance divisive social and cultural causes.”
Canada was among the countries that approved the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted by UNESCO in November, 2005.
Signatories agreed to reaffirm the sovereign rights of states to maintain, adopt and implement policies they deem appropriate for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions on their territory.
The convention says states should strive to foster an environment that encourages individuals and social groups to create and have access “to their own cultural expressions,” as well as from other countries of the world.
During Question Period in the Commons on Thursday, Bloc Québécois heritage critic Martin Champoux said representatives of Quebec will attend the UNESCO meeting in Paris to “continue its efforts to protect cultural diversity from the hegemony of web giants.” As a province, however, it will not have the power to vote.
“Quebec will join forces with European countries to ensure that the 2005 UNESCO Convention, which protects all cultures in the context of globalization, also applies to the digital world,” Mr. Champoux said.
Mr. Champoux is among multiple Quebec MPs to have expressed concerns that American streaming platforms are not doing enough to promote the province’s film, TV and music, saying this threatens its unique francophone culture.
In a Thursday meeting of the Commons heritage committee, Mr. Champoux asked Mr. Miller if he would vote in favour of the protocol extending the convention’s scope.
The Canadian Identity Minister replied that he is looking favourably at supporting it, telling the Bloc MP there is reason for optimism.
Mr. Miller added that the potential protocol had not yet been approved and considerable work remains for Canada and other member states.
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In June, 2025, Canada joined 160 other states in supporting the continued implementation of the convention in the digital age, as well as consideration of an additional protocol.
Alisson Lévesque, a spokesperson for Mr. Miller, said in a statement that the government is consulting with provinces, territories, civil society and Indigenous partners, and reviewing the options offered in a UNESCO study published last month, including an additional protocol to the convention.
“We’re committed to pursue solutions that will have the support of partner countries and partners in Canada, ahead of the official decision on legal options in 2027, as strength of any international instrument rests on consensus.”
Toronto lawyer Sara Riboldi, who specializes in international law as well as cultural property, said updating the UNESCO convention, for example to cover the impact of AI, is an important step. She also said member states would have to take action to ensure they are implementing any changes.