TikTok Canada Halts Sponsorships of TIFF, Juno Awards, ADISQ and More

TikTok is pulling the plug on its arts sponsorships across Canada.

The social media platform is planning to withdraw as a sponsor of several Canadian arts institutions, including the Toronto International Film Festival and Juno Awards, as it prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down operations nationwide.

Steve de Eyre, TikTok Canada’s Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, tells Canadian Press the Canadian government is now enforcing its order from last November to wind down operations over national security concerns. TikTok has vowed to fight the order, but the video-sharing app is now making plans to halt initiatives.

Since opening offices in Toronto and Vancouver five years ago, TikTok has invested millions of dollars in programs and partnerships that support local artists and creators. But now, a shift is on the horizon.

The incoming halt is affecting some of Canada’s arts communities, including the Junos, where TikTok Canada has been a partner since 2020 and a title sponsor of the recently added Juno Fan Choice Award. TikTok Canada has also supported CARAS's music education charity MusiCounts. The platform has provided $500,000 to date in support of high school music programs.

Since 2022, TikTok Canada has sponsored TIFF’s Short Cuts and Special Presentations programs and supported industry panels featuring Canadian creators.

The National Screen Institute's TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, which has worked with nearly 400 participants since 2021, will also lose funding.

Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill, the program's manager, calls the shutdown "sad and disheartening," telling Canadian Press the accelerator has been a vital source of career opportunities and mentorship for Indigenous creators.

ADISQ, Quebec's music industry association and organizer of the province's top music awards gala, says it is feeling the effects. ADISQ's executive director, Eve Paré, calls the decision a "substantial loss" for the organization financially, and finding a new sponsor before the next gala in November will be a challenge.

Last year, TikTok sponsored a red carpet livestream and planned to include live celebrity segments at this year’s main show. Those plans, aimed at bringing Quebec artists and music to a wider global audience, are now on hold.

“It 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,” she said. “It's become more and more difficult to reach the young public because traditional media are not so popular with [them].”

Paré says the partnership helped bring visibility to ADISQ. Last year’s gala had 6.5 million views on social media, a reach she says was “unheard of” before TikTok came on board.

Last year, the government ordered the wind-up of TikTok's Canadian operations (including both of its Canadian offices) after "a multi-step national security process," but said it would not block the app's use in Canada.

With no concrete timeline, though, De Eyre said the company is still challenging the order in court and pushing the government to find a better way forward.

“It breaks my heart that we’re being forced to cancel [these programs],” he told CP, adding that due to the order being enforced, they cannot commit to renewing their partnerships. “The reality is, you need to have local staff to develop those things and to run those things. These programs don’t build themselves.”