TORONTO - TikTok says it’s pulling out as a sponsor of several Canadian arts institutions including the Juno Awards and the 色色啦 International Film Festival as it prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down operations in Canada.
Since opening offices in 色色啦 and Vancouver TikTok says it has invested millions in programs and partnerships supporting local artists and creators over the past five years.
But TikTok Canada鈥檚 director of public policy and government affairs Steve de Eyre says Ottawa is now enforcing its order from last November to wind down operations over national security concerns, and TikTok has no choice but to suspend those initiatives indefinitely.
Another group that will be impacted is the education charity MusiCounts, which TikTok says it’s provided with $500,000 to date to support high school music programs.聽
The social media giant has been a Junos partner since 2020 and a title sponsor of the Juno Fan Choice Award.聽
It’s also worked with TIFF since 2022, sponsoring the festival’s Short Cuts and Special Presentations programs, and supporting industry panels that featured Canadian creators.聽
Also among the casualties is the National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators that has worked with nearly 400 participants since 2021.
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill, the program鈥檚 manager, calls the shutdown 鈥渟ad and disheartening,鈥 saying the accelerator has been a vital source of career opportunities and mentorship for Indigenous creators.
“It’s a really sad loss of opportunity. We have hundreds of applications that come through from very qualified, talented, Indigenous creators in Canada,” she says.
TikTok says it’s also pulling out of its partnership with ADISQ, Quebec鈥檚 music industry association and organizer of the province鈥檚 top music awards gala.聽
Eve Par茅, ADISQ鈥檚 executive director, calls the decision a 鈥渟ubstantial loss鈥 for the organization financially and says finding a new sponsor before the next gala in November will be a challenge.
鈥淚t was a big disappointment on our part because financially it’s a sponsorship that is important to us, especially these days where cultural organizations like us are struggling,鈥 she says.
Last year, TikTok sponsored a red-carpet livestream and had planned to include live celebrity segments at this year鈥檚 main show. Those plans, aimed at bringing Quebec artists and music to a wider global audience, are now on hold.
Par茅 says the partnership helped bring visibility to ADISQ. Last year鈥檚 gala had 6.5 million views on social media, a reach she says was 鈥渦nheard of鈥 before TikTok came on board.
鈥淚t’s become more and more difficult to reach the young public, because traditional media are not so popular with (them),鈥 she says.
De Eyre says the company is still challenging the order in court and pushing the government to find a better way forward.聽
He did not provide a time they have to close up shop.聽
The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada did not immediately provide comment Monday.聽
Last year, the government said it had ordered the wind up of Canadian business carried by TikTok after “a multi-step national security process,” but said it would not block the app.聽
鈥淲e think that it鈥檚 not in anybody鈥檚 best interest for us not to be present here,鈥 De Eyre says.聽
鈥淲e should be present, we should be investing in cultural organizations, we should have people who are accountable to Parliament, to regulators, to law enforcement. If there are concerns about security, let鈥檚 address them.鈥
He argues that while the TikTok app will remain available, closing its Canadian offices would mean hundreds of jobs lost and less support for homegrown creators.
鈥淚t breaks my heart that we鈥檙e being forced to cancel (these programs),鈥 he says, adding that due to the order being enforced, they cannot commit to renewing their partnerships.
鈥淭he reality is, you need to have local staff to develop those things and to run those things. These programs don鈥檛 build themselves.鈥
Joshua Bloom, TikTok Canada鈥檚 general manager, argues the platform鈥檚 presence is crucial for creators but also for local businesses and advertisers who depend on Canadian staff.聽
He cites the company鈥檚 recent economic impact report by consulting firm Nordicity, released last month, which estimates TikTok has contributed $1.4 billion to Canada鈥檚 GDP since 2019.聽
According to the report, small businesses advertising on TikTok saw a combined revenue boost of $950 million nationwide last year. Nordicity says it arrived at this figure via a combination of surveys, interviews, desk research and economic modelling.
Bloom says it鈥檚 been a 鈥渟tressful time鈥 for TikTok Canada.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard. I’m trying to keep the team calm and have them feel like it’s business as usual and feel like they can continue to just work until a day that the office would actually close, if it closes,鈥 he says.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to continue to establish and work with our partners who need us every single day.鈥
De Eyre says TikTok has proposed solutions to address security concerns, increase transparency and maintain investment and jobs in Canada, but that there鈥檚 been little government engagement.聽
鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 really been an opportunity to discuss an alternative solution substantively with the government,鈥 he says.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful we can still avoid (a shutdown), but as it stands, there are starting to be real consequences.鈥
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025.
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