Friends of Canadian Media

What Friends of Canadian Media does

Friends of Canadian Media (legally "Friends of Canadian Broadcasting," operating under the trade name FRIENDS until January 2024) is a non-partisan citizens' movement founded in 1985 by Ian Morrison to defend the CBC against federal budget cuts. Headquartered in Toronto with a staff of approximately 10–15 employees across executive, director, manager, and coordinator roles, the organization mobilizes more than 360,000 supporters through email alerts, petitions, letter-writing to Members of Parliament, volunteer programs, and donation appeals. Its advocacy spans four published priorities: public broadcasting, news and journalism, Canadian storytelling, and online safety.

The organization does not sell products or services. Its deliverables are advocacy campaigns (Save the CBC, Close the Loophole, Online Safety, Cultural Sovereignty), policy research, educational content (the Media Mythbusters series and Policy Explainers), the annual $10,000 Dalton Camp Award for essays on media and democracy, and grassroots mobilization infrastructure. Distribution is purely digital and earned-media based: a website hub (friends.ca), email newsletters including The Friendly Brief and Take Action Alerts, and active accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. There is no proprietary technology platform, API, or AI/ML capability disclosed.

Funding is entirely donation-based (one-time gifts, monthly recurring donations, and legacy giving), with the organization explicitly declining government funding and donations from political parties or CRTC-regulated entities. The go-to-market is community-led — building and rapidly activating a large supporter base around federal election cycles, CRTC public hearings, and Parliamentary committee consultations. Documented outcomes include a 2025 federal election commitment to increase CBC funding by $150 million following the Fund the CBC campaign, secured amendments to the Online Streaming Act (C-11), influence over the Online News Act (C-18), and a successful 2023 pressure campaign that caused Elon Musk and Twitter to reverse the mislabeling of CBC as "government-funded media."

Name

Friends of Canadian Media

Legal name

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting

Website

https://friends.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Friends of Canadian Media is a non-partisan, donation-funded citizens' movement founded in 1985 that mobilizes over 360,000 supporters to advocate for Canadian cultural sovereignty, public broadcasting (CBC/Radio-Canada), journalism sustainability, and online safety through policy research and grassroots campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individual Supporters: Friends of Canadian Media is funded entirely through donations from passionate Canadian citizens who support their campaigns. The organization receives no government funding or donations from political parties or CRTC-regulated entities. They accept one-time donations, monthly recurring donations, and legacy gifts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Friends of Canadian Media is a non-partisan citizens' movement that mobilizes Canadian citizens to advocate for Canadian voices in Canadian media. The organization runs nationwide advocacy campaigns on public broadcasting, cultural sovereignty, online safety, and journalism sustainability, supported by policy research, coalition building, an annual essay prize, and citizen engagement tools such as petitions, letter-writing to MPs, and volunteer programs.

Product overview

Friends of Canadian Media operates as a non-profit citizens' advocacy movement rather than a commercial product company. The organization offers no software products, platforms, or modules. Its primary offerings consist of advocacy campaigns (Save the CBC, Close the Loophole, Online Safety, Cultural Sovereignty), the annual Dalton Camp Award essay competition ($10,000 prize), educational resources including the Media Mythbusters series and Policy Explainers on media policy topics, volunteer mobilization programs, and donation mechanisms. These are advocacy programs and educational content, not commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dalton Camp Award An annual $10,000 prize awarded for the best essay on the link between media and democracy in Canada, judged on subject matter and strength of written expression. Open to Canadian writers and thinkers.
• Advocacy Campaigns (Save the CBC, Close the Loophole, Online Safety, Cultural Sovereignty) Citizen mobilization campaigns addressing Canadian media policy issues including public broadcasting funding (Save the CBC), digital advertising tax loopholes (Close the Loophole), online harms legislation (Online Safety), and cultural sovereignty protections. Supporters engage via petitions, letters to MPs, pledges, and volunteer activities.
• Media Mythbusters Series Educational content series debunking common misconceptions about Canadian media, including topics on media bias, CBC viewership, and social media regulation, published as blog posts on the Friends of Canadian Media website.
• Policy Explainers Educational content explaining Canadian media policy concepts including cultural sovereignty, digital sovereignty, and the future of public broadcasting, published as blog posts on the Friends of Canadian Media website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Government elected on promise to increase CBC funding by $150 million following Fund the CBC campaign in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Canadian Association of JournalistscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner in nationwide campaign calling on the federal government to tackle online harms through legislation that holds tech giants accountable for content on their platforms.
• Unplugged CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner in online harms campaign representing child advocacy perspective on protecting youth from harmful online content.
• Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNC-SJ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner in online harms campaign bringing expertise on community safety and social justice concerns.
• News Media CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner representing Canada's news publishers, advocating for journalism sustainability and protection from tech platform harms.
• Alliance RadioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner representing Canadian radio broadcasters in advocacy for platform accountability and media sustainability.
• UniforcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2026Coalition partner representing Canada's largest private sector union with media sector members, advocating for journalist protections and Canadian media jobs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FriendsCndm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3NjAbjocIW16rn8Q-ljgwQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/FriendsCndm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friendscndm
• Instagraminstagram.com/friendscndm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Friends of Canadian Media