Government spending on TikTok ads plummeted by nearly $1 million since last fiscal year.
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The federal government has cut how much money it spends on advertisements on TikTok and X, while boosting spending on Facebook and Instagram.
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The shift was revealed in the government’s annual ad spending report, which dropped last week amid a period of heightened scrutiny over U.S. social media giants, including discussions between Canadian lawmakers and Meta about potentially ending a long-standing block on Canadian news.
Between 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, government spending on TikTok advertising plummeted from about $1.1 million to about $180,000.
Spending on X ads started out lower but took a significant hit as well, dropping from about $207,000 to less than $40,000.
Over the same period, government spending on ads for Facebook and Instagram increased from about $500,000 to about $1.4 million.
The increase on Meta platforms comes after years of declines, including a drop of more than $6 million between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, a timeframe that coincides with the passing of the Online News Act.
The act requires big tech companies that republish or share Canadian news, such as Google and Meta, to pay publishers.
The tech companies lobbied against the bill, and since the legislation became law in 2023, Meta has blocked Canadian news from its platforms.
Before the block, Facebook and Instagram soaked up the bulk of government spending on social media ads.
Whatever may be driving the changes, government decisions around which social media platforms to support through public ad dollars are perhaps more political than ever.
Public Services and Procurement Canada, the federal department that oversees ad spending, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
In recent weeks, Canadian lawmakers have faced repeated questions over the conduct of U.S. social media platforms.
Elon Musk’s X has been embroiled in controversy over sexually abusive user-generated content.
In response to backlash over user requests to modify images using X’s artificial intelligence platform Grok, including by putting women in bikinis or sexually explicit positions, the United Kingdom launched a formal investigation into the app.
In a post on X, AI Minister Evan Solomon condemned “deepfake sexual abuse” but later clarified Canada is not considering a ban on the platform.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Press reported Culture Minister Marc Miller’s office is in ongoing talks with Meta over its block on Canadian news.
A spokesperson for Miller told the Canadian Press “the door has always been open” on the government’s side to discuss the issue of returning Canadian news to Facebook and Instagram.
The U.S. has identified the Online News Act as an irritant in trade negotiations.
As for TikTok, the government banned the app, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, on all government devices in 2023, later launching a national security review of the app.
Citing “national security risks” associated with ByteDance, the government eventually ordered the company to shutter its Canadian operations, forcing the closure of offices in Toronto and Vancouver. That order was recently shelved by a Federal Court judge.
Nonetheless, the government spent $1.13 million on TikTok ads during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Last fiscal year, it slashed that spending by nearly $1 million, buying just $180,000 in ads on the platform.
In total, the government spent $78.15 million on advertising last fiscal year. Of that total, $64.2 million was doled out through the Agency of Record, a centralized organization that handles most media buying on behalf of government departments.
In terms of spending through the agency, 63 per cent went to digital media, with the rest going to “traditional” media, such as television, radio, billboards or print.
Spending on social media ads totalled $7.55 million, which is a little more than half of what the government spent on TV commercials.
The biggest spenders were Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Revenue Agency and Health Canada.
Ad spending in recent years is much lower overall than it was during the pandemic, when a surge in spending by the Public Health Agency of Canada drove the overall numbers up.
In 2021-2022, the public health agency alone spent more than $60 million on advertising.
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