MediaSmarts

What MediaSmarts does

MediaSmarts is a Canadian non-partisan registered charity (Charitable Registration No. 89018 1092 RR0001), founded in 1996 and headquartered in Ottawa, operating as Canada's bilingual centre for digital media literacy. The organization develops free educational resources, workshops, and research products that build critical thinking skills around misinformation, AI literacy, online safety, privacy, digital citizenship, and online hate. Its core products include the USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE Digital Media Literacy Framework mapped to curriculum outcomes for every Canadian province and territory, four Ontario Digital Media Literacy Textbooks for grades K-12, an educational games suite (e.g., #ForYou, Privacy Pirates, Reality Check), the Break the Fake fact-checking program, the bilingual Teen Fact-Checking Network, and the longitudinal Young Canadians in a Wireless World research study (20,000+ participants surveyed since 2000). The technology stack is a digital-first web platform delivered through mediasmarts.ca (English) and habilomedias.ca (French) with self-guided tutorials, online textbooks, and interactive games; facilitated virtual and in-person workshops are delivered as a paid service for organizations.

The organization serves a horizontally segmented audience — educators (K-12), parents, youth (ages 10-18), older adults, libraries/community organizations, teen fact-checkers, and survivors of technology-facilitated violence — and reaches them through events including the 20+ year Media Literacy Week (200+ collaborating organizations, 60+ events), Digital Citizen Day, and the newly launched Canada AI Literacy Day (March 2026). MediaSmarts does not charge for core educational content; operating revenue is generated through charitable donations, corporate partnerships (Bell, Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, APTN, NFB), and government grants (Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Public Health Agency of Canada, CIHR, CIRA, ISED). The operating team is small (1-10 employees) and the organization maintains an explicit independence policy stating that funders and corporate partners do not influence its work.

Name

MediaSmarts

Legal name

MediaSmarts

Website

https://mediasmarts.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MediaSmarts is a Canadian bilingual registered charity that develops free digital and media literacy educational resources, research, and workshops for Canadian educators, parents, youth, and community organizations, funded by charitable donations, corporate sponsorships, and government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Media Literacy Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Interactive Multimedia Learning Content (Video, Audio, Interactive Lessons) (EDAFACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Instructional Video & Multimedia (EDAGALAA), Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK), Assessment & Test Prep Media (Video Lessons, Drills, Simulations) (EDAGALAD), Scholarly & Academic Multimedia (Research Videos, Interactive Figures) (EDAGALAJ)

Keywords

• Digital media literacy education
• Media literacy resources
• Online safety training
• Teacher curriculum resources
• Digital citizenship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: MediaSmarts is a non-partisan registered charity (Charitable Registration No. 89018 1092 RR0001) that relies on donations from individuals, organizations, and companies. Donations support classroom resources, research on Canadian children and teens' Internet use, community resources, and parent workshops.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Funding and sponsorship from corporate partners including Bell, Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, APTN, NFB, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation. Partners do not influence the organization's work. Corporate partners help achieve vision of empowering people to engage with media confidently and critically.
3. Government Funding: Funding from government partners including Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, Public Health Agency of Canada, CIRA's Community Investment Program, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

MediaSmarts is Canada's bilingual centre for digital and media literacy, providing free educational resources, expert-facilitated workshops, interactive educational games, online textbooks, and original research for Canadian homes, schools, and communities. The organization delivers curriculum-aligned K-12 resources, parent guides, AI literacy tools, and awareness campaigns (Media Literacy Week, Digital Citizen Day, Canada AI Literacy Day), supported by a research-to-resource model anchored by the Young Canadians in a Wireless World study.

Product overview

MediaSmarts is Canada's bilingual centre for digital media literacy, operating as a registered charity since 1996. The organization offers a comprehensive portfolio of educational products and services organized around three pillars: education (workshops, educational games, teacher resources, parent resources), awareness and outreach (Media Literacy Week, Digital Citizen Day, AI Literacy Day, Teen Fact-Checking Network), and research (Young Canadians in a Wireless World studies, research reports). Key products include the Break the Fake fact-checking program, the USE UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE Digital Media Literacy Framework, Ontario Digital Media Literacy Textbooks (Building Blocks, Discovering, Exploring, Navigating), and educational games such as #ForYou and Cyber Choices. Resources are delivered through expert-facilitated workshops, self-guided tutorials, lesson plans, tip sheets, and interactive games. The organization focuses on building critical thinking skills around misinformation, AI literacy, online safety, privacy, digital citizenship, and media representation rather than offering a traditional software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Media Literacy Week: Annual national event to promote digital media literacy across Canada, taking place each October. The 21st annual event scheduled for October 26-30, 2026.
• Digital Citizen Day
• Canada AI Literacy Day
• Break the Fake
• Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) Canada
• Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW)

Products and services

• Digital Media Literacy Workshop Delivery Expert-facilitated virtual and in-person workshops for parents, educators, youth, older adults, and the general public covering online safety, misinformation, digital well-being, managing tech in the home, diversity and representation in media, digital citizenship, critical thinking, online hate, and AI literacy.
• Media Literacy Week Annual national event promoting digital media literacy across Canada each October, with activities and events in classrooms, libraries, museums, and community groups. The 21st annual event is scheduled for October 26-30, 2026.
• Digital Citizen Day Annual event encouraging everyone to engage and share responsibly in the digital world, held each October with Bell and TikTok as lead sponsors.
• Canada AI Literacy Day National initiative launched March 27, 2026 to empower Canadians with the knowledge and skills needed to use, understand, and engage with AI safely, critically, and responsibly.
• Teacher Resources Comprehensive teacher resources including lesson plans, tip sheets, classroom tools, the Digital Media Literacy Framework, and curriculum-aligned materials for K-12 educators across all Canadian provinces and territories.
• Resources for Parents Free resources including blogs, games, tip sheets, guides, workshops, and tutorials to help parents navigate digital media issues with their children.
• Educational Games Interactive educational games including A Day in the Life of the Jos, Break the Fake Quizzes, Co-Co's AdverSmarts, Cyber Choices, Data Defenders, #ForYou, Privacy Pirates, and Reality Check that teach digital media literacy skills to youth.
• Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) Canada Bilingual program launched in partnership with MediaWise at The Poynter Institute that brings teens together to investigate viral claims and share accurate information online through video creation.
• Break the Fake Fact-checking program teaching four steps to verify online information: use fact-checking tools, find the source, verify the source, and check other sources. Includes workshops, quizzes, posters, and lesson plans.
• Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) Canada's longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people's attitudes and behaviours regarding the internet, surveying over 20,000 parents, teachers, and students across four phases since 2000.
• Ontario Digital Media Literacy Textbooks Four online multimedia textbooks for Ontario curriculum (Language 1-8 and English 9) covering Building Blocks (Gr. 1-3), Discovering (Gr. 4-6), Exploring (Gr. 7-8), and Navigating (Gr. 9), with teacher and student editions.
• USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE Framework Digital media literacy framework for Canadian schools drawing on nine framework topics with supporting lessons and interactive resources linked to curriculum outcomes for every province and territory.
• Research Reports Research publications including Breaking the Cycle of Youth Cyberbullying, Building Resilience through DigitalSmarts, Youth Perspectives on AI in Paediatric Healthcare, Motives and Methods: Building Resilience to Online Misinformation, and YCWW Phase IV reports.
• Resilience Through DigitalSmarts Program National program funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada delivering trauma-informed digital media literacy workshops to survivors of technology-facilitated violence, with 87 workshops reaching 116 survivors, 263 resources distributed, and 48 practitioners trained across 16 organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of survivors reported increased knowledge or skills related to online safety, privacy and digital media literacy after Resilience Through DigitalSmarts program
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SickKids (Hospital for Sick Children)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Research collaboration on ethical AI use in children's healthcare through Canadian Institutes of Health Research project. Led by Dr. Melissa McCradden with youth perspectives study.
• APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate supporter with shared interest in diverse media representation and digital literacy for Indigenous communities.
• NFB (National Film Board)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate supporter collaborating on media literacy content and resources.
• Canadian Commission for UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner for Media Literacy Week, providing international framework and support for digital media literacy promotion across Canada.
• MediaWise at The Poynter InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for Teen Fact-Checking Network Canada. Part of global network of youth fact-checkers with training support and resources.
• YWCA CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for DigitalSmarts digital literacy skills program and Project Block Hate building resilience against online hate speech for women and marginalized groups.
• Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partnership on understanding and addressing online hate and extremism.
• University of Toronto (Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSHRC-funded research partnership on Consensual and Non-Consensual Sexting in Adolescence with Faye Mishna and Betsy Milne.
• Financial Consumer Agency of CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch committee participation for consumer protection in digital financial literacy.
• The Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (SSHRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSHRC-funded research partnership with Benoit Dupont and Vicky Desjardins from Université de Montréal.
• TVOKidsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Wacky Media Songs video series and lesson plans covering Ethics & Empathy, Media Health, and Privacy & Security topics for children.
• Canadian Sociological AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association partnership for research collaboration and knowledge mobilization in digital media literacy.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Common Sense Education: US-based non-profit that develops K-12 digital citizenship, media literacy, and educational technology curriculum. Directly comparable mission of providing free digital literacy resources to schools and families, with similar curriculum-aligned frameworks and educator professional development programs.
• MediaWise at The Poynter Institute: Media literacy initiative housed at the Poynter Institute. Already an active partner of MediaSmarts via the Teen Fact-Checking Network; offers directly comparable fact-checking education, youth media programs, and digital literacy training across North America.
• News Literacy Project: US non-profit that provides news literacy curriculum and educator training programs. Closely aligned with MediaSmarts' misinformation/fact-checking focus (Break the Fake, Teen Fact-Checking Network) and shares the K-12 educator customer segment.
• The News Literacy Project: Non-profit dedicated to teaching students how to discern credible news. Operates in the same education/media literacy space with similar grant-funded model and curriculum integration into schools.
• Centre for Media Literacy: Long-standing US-based non-profit focused on media literacy education for educators and students. Comparable mission of curriculum development and professional development in critical thinking about media.
• National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE): US professional association promoting media literacy across education, library, and community settings. Comparable professional ecosystem-building role in the digital media literacy field.

Regional players

• Internet Matters: UK-based non-profit providing online safety and digital literacy resources for parents, educators, and children. Comparable mission to MediaSmarts' parent resources but focused on UK market; useful peer for international scope.

Broad incumbents

• Be Internet Awesome (Google): Google's K-12 digital citizenship and online safety curriculum. Represents the corporate-scale competitive alternative to MediaSmarts in the same content category, backed by significantly more distribution resources.
• PBS Education: Major US public broadcaster producing free K-12 educational media, lesson plans, and digital literacy content. Comparable in delivering free multimedia educational content at scale to schools, though as part of a broader public media mandate.
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB): Canadian public producer of educational and documentary media with active partnership with MediaSmarts. Provides adjacent publicly-funded educational multimedia infrastructure relevant to the same educator and youth segments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MediaSmarts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MediaAwareness
• Facebookfacebook.com/MediaSmarts
• Instagraminstagram.com/mediasmarts.ca
• TikToktiktok.com/@mediasmarts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mediasmarts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MediaSmarts