Closing TikTok’s Canadian offices would result in hundreds of lost jobs and less support for local creators, a TikTok official says.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
TikTok says it’s pulling out as a sponsor of several Canadian arts institutions including the Juno Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival as it prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down operations in Canada.
Since opening offices in Toronto and Vancouver TikTok says it has invested millions in programs and partnerships supporting local artists and creators over the past five years.
But TikTok Canada’s director of public policy and government affairs Steve de Eyre says Ottawa is now enforcing its order from last November to wind down operations over national security concerns, and TikTok has no choice but to suspend those initiatives indefinitely.
Ottawa orders shutdown of TikTok’s Canadian arm – but citizens can keep using popular app
Another group that will be impacted is the education charity MusiCounts, which TikTok says it’s provided with $500,000 to date to support high school music programs.
The social media giant has been a Junos partner since 2020 and a title sponsor of the Juno Fan Choice Award.
It’s also worked with TIFF since 2022, sponsoring the festival’s Short Cuts and Special Presentations programs, and supporting industry panels that featured Canadian creators.
Also among the casualties is the National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators that has worked with nearly 400 participants since 2021.
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill, the program’s manager, calls the shutdown “sad and disheartening,” saying the accelerator has been a vital source of career opportunities and mentorship for Indigenous creators.
“It’s a really sad loss of opportunity. We have hundreds of applications that come through from very qualified, talented Indigenous creators in Canada,” she says.
TikTok says it’s also pulling out of its partnership with ADISQ, Quebec’s music industry association and organizer of the province’s top music awards gala.
Eve Paré, ADISQ’s executive director, calls the decision a “substantial loss” for the organization financially and says finding a new sponsor before the next gala in November will be a challenge.
“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 says.
Last year, TikTok sponsored a red-carpet livestream and had 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.
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.
“It’s become more and more difficult to reach the young public, because traditional media are not so popular with (them),” she says.
With employees in limbo, TikTok hoping for ‘solution’ to Ottawa’s shutdown order
De Eyre says the company is still challenging the order in court and pushing the government to find a better way forward.
He did not provide a time they have to close up shop.
The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada did not immediately provide comment Monday.
Last year, the government said it had ordered the wind up of Canadian business carried by TikTok after “a multi-step national security process,” but said it would not block the app.
“We think that it’s not in anybody’s best interest for us not to be present here,” De Eyre says.
“We should be present, we should be investing in cultural organizations, we should have people who are accountable to Parliament, to regulators, to law enforcement. If there are concerns about security, let’s address them.”
He argues that while the TikTok app will remain available, closing its Canadian offices would mean hundreds of jobs lost and less support for homegrown creators.
“It breaks my heart that we’re being forced to cancel (these programs),” he says, 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.”
Joshua Bloom, TikTok Canada’s general manager, argues the platform’s presence is crucial for creators but also for local businesses and advertisers who depend on Canadian staff.
He cites the company’s recent economic impact report by consulting firm Nordicity, released last month, which estimates TikTok has contributed $1.4 billion to Canada’s GDP since 2019.
According to the report, small businesses advertising on TikTok saw a combined revenue boost of $950 million nationwide last year. Nordicity says it arrived at this figure via a combination of surveys, interviews, desk research and economic modelling.
Bloom says it’s been a “stressful time” for TikTok Canada.
“It’s hard. I’m trying to keep the team calm and have them feel like it’s business as usual and feel like they can continue to just work until a day that the office would actually close, if it closes,” he says.
“We’re trying to continue to establish and work with our partners who need us every single day.”
De Eyre says TikTok has proposed solutions to address security concerns, increase transparency and maintain investment and jobs in Canada, but that there’s been little government engagement.
“There hasn’t really been an opportunity to discuss an alternative solution substantively with the government,” he says.
“We’re hopeful we can still avoid (a shutdown), but as it stands, there are starting to be real consequences.”
