The Globe and Mail and Stagwell have launched the Future of News Initiative in Canada. The program brings industry leaders and researchers together to examine how Canadians consume news and how advertising performs in trusted news environments.
At the centre of the initiative is one of the largest Canadian studies of its kind. More than 9,600 adults across the country, in English and French, shared detailed insights on their reading habits, trust levels and reactions to advertising placed alongside news content. The findings provide clarity on a topic that has often been guided by assumptions rather than evidence.
Key Findings
- News plays a central role in daily life. The study found that 22 per cent of Canadians describe themselves as “news junkies.” This group checks the news about five times a day and reads an average of 8.8 articles. In total, 71 per cent of Canadians read news regularly and consume about 6.5 articles per day.
- News competes with other major content categories. Canadians follow news at the same rate as sports, at 22 per cent. They follow news more often than entertainment, which sits at 14 per cent.
- Brand safety concerns do not reflect actual audience behaviour. The study reported no brand safety issues across key demographic groups, including Gen Z, mothers, high-income households and university-educated adults.
- Advertising in news environments performs consistently. Among Gen Z, purchase intent was similar whether ads ran beside articles about domestic politics, sports or crime. The differences were not statistically significant.
What This Means for IAB Canada Members
For marketers and agencies, the findings challenge long-standing assumptions about advertising in news environments. The data shows that news outlets offer a stable and engaged audience, and that ads perform reliably across a range of topics.
The Future of News Initiative highlights the value of supporting trusted journalism. Brands that invest in news environments reach informed, attentive audiences and help strengthen Canada’s information ecosystem.
IAB Canada recognizes the importance of this work and encourages the industry to consider the role that news publishers play in maintaining a healthy media landscape. Advertising support helps ensure that Canadian audiences continue to have access to credible, high-quality journalism.
To support the Canadian New industry, IAB Canada released a Canadian news allowlist in 2020 that is accessible through the IAB Tech Lab to ingest into DSPs. The list allows media buyers to ensure they are setting their buys to include reliable, vetted Canadian news sources.
To unpack the full findings and see how the data challenges long-standing assumptions about news advertising, explore the full report.