Former Canadian chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul said Canada's digital rules would remain a source of friction in any renewed talks with the United States, The Canadian Press reported from an Oct. 19 conference in Ottawa.
In its 2026 trade policy agenda, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) described Canadian digital measures as discriminatory and restrictive, naming the Online Streaming Act. Its 2026 National Trade Estimate report also discussed the Online News Act and a procurement proposal concerning where Canadian government cloud data would be stored and who would control it.
Those documents were published before Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended bilateral negotiations Aug. 21. Carney cited last-minute changes to proposed U.S. terms, but his statement did not identify a digital provision.
Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), set a framework in May to make Canadian and Indigenous programming more visible on streaming services. Requirements for individual platforms will be settled in a later proceeding. Canadian Heritage says the framework applies to Canadian and foreign services according to their size and business models.
Under an agreement that formed the basis of a CRTC exemption for Google Search, Google agreed to contribute C$100 million annually, adjusted for inflation, to Canadian news businesses through the Canadian Journalism Collective. The regulator granted the search service a five-year exemption from mandatory bargaining, effective Oct. 28, 2024.
Verheul linked the recurring trade friction to the number of large technology companies based in the United States: rules aimed at those firms often affect American businesses. He urged Canada to coordinate with the European Union and other countries with similar interests, The Canadian Press reported.
The Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement exempts qualifying Canadian cultural measures from most of its provisions, but allows an affected trading partner to respond with a measure of equivalent commercial effect. Canada's implementation statement says the partner does not need a dispute ruling before responding. Canada is scheduled to host European Union leaders in Montréal on Oct. 29-30.
