CALGARY, AB, Sept. 29, 2026 /CNW/ -- A new white paper commissioned by Rocket Fund Canada, calls for Canada to put the rights of children and youth first in how we create, fund and govern their media, while taking urgent action to address the crisis facing the Canadian children's and youth media industry, which is essential to our cultural and economic future.

Project Sunbeam: Kids' Rights in Canadian Media calls for a Team Canada approach to build a stronger future for Canadian children's media. The report found that 85 per cent of both Anglophone and Francophone industry members feel the sector is in crisis or declining, while 80 per cent of Francophones described the financial challenges they are experiencing as a cultural emergency requiring immediate government intervention.

"Children and youth have rights that Canada has committed to, and we are not living up to those expectations. There is an urgency to act now," says Rocket Fund Canada President and CEO Agnes Augustin. "Eleven independent Canadian children's channels have closed. Funding for kids' content keeps falling. As kids move online, safety concerns grow while Canadian and Indigenous stories disappear. And we still don't fully understand who Gen Alpha are, or who Gen Beta will be."

Canada's children and youth are increasingly consuming media across streaming services, YouTube, gaming, podcasts and social platforms, often filled with international content that does not reflect Canadian and Indigenous values. Meanwhile, public funding and policy frameworks continue to rely largely on traditional media models. Despite being described as Canada's future, children and youth were not represented in the House of Commons Finance Committee's 2026 pre-budget report, which included no recommendations on children's or youth media, or on the federal AI Strategy task force. Their absence is significant as AI and media increasingly shape children's learning, development, health, sense of belonging, cultural identity and understanding of Canada. Saying that children and youth are valued and important to Canada is no longer enough. They need a seat at the table, the report says.

Kim Wilson, the Lead Researcher and report author, said she "set out to look at everything shaping the industry" and found that Canadian children and youth are not simply an audience. "Children are rights holders, and their best interests must come first," she said. "They have the right to be heard, to take part in culture, to privacy and to expression. Indigenous children and youth, and those in equity-deserving groups, have the right to have their language needs met. These rights extend to digital services, algorithms, data, devices, AI and platform design. Media is not just entertainment. It is part of every area of kids' lives, including education, health and cultural connection. Children can't vote and have little political power, so we must amplify their voices."

The report puts forward a range of actions for industry, funders, and government. Six priorities lead the way:

1. Treat Children And Youth As The Rights Holders They Are
2. Create A Protected Children's And Youth Media Fund With New Architecture
3. Treat Discoverability And Audience Development As Part Of The Investment
4. Build Canada's Capacity To Understand Childhood As It Changes
5. Make Platforms And AI Accountable To Children's Rights And Development
6. Protect Cultural Continuity Through Francophone and Indigenous Media Pathways and Public Broadcasting

The white paper has 36 Recommendations, 137 Supporting Findings and 49 Key Findings including: 

• Childhood has changed. Kids are growing up amid the effects of the pandemic, eco-anxiety, global unrest and constant political news, and want stories grounded in hope, caring, kindness and belonging.
• Global technology companies play an outsized role in shaping what Canadian children see and how they see the world, without responsibility for child development, education, age-appropriate entertainment or Canadian culture.
• Children and youth have little voice in decisions shaping their media, even as media, technology and AI increasingly influence their learning, development, cultural identity and understanding of Canada.
• Francophone children are increasingly hearing European French on streaming services and YouTube, with focus testing showing some are beginning to recalibrate what sounds "normal" on screen, potentially contributing to linguistic insecurity.

Canada has led on children's rights just as we have in children's media and must be leaders again, the report says.

"The opportunity in front of us is to apply a Team Canada approach to children's and youth media, bringing together children and youth, families, educators, researchers, creators, industry, communities and government," Augustin says. "A child rights approach would allow for Canadian content that reflects what children and youth need to engage with, and strengthen our cultural and economic future. Our country is exploding with talent, and a child rights approach would enable this incredible country to truly lead on children's rights, and to live up to our commitments to those who are the future of Canada."

About Rocket Fund Canada

Rocket Fund Canada is a vital partner of the Canadian children's media sector in offering children robust, world-leading content on all platforms. As the only dedicated fund for children's and youth content, Rocket Fund invests in and supports Canadian-made media that reflects Canadian and Indigenous values and diversity, and most of all respects and speaks to children, while positively showcasing Canadian leadership on the world stage. By working with industry, regulators, and governments, the Rocket Fund aims to make quality content for kids a global priority. Since its inception, the Rocket Fund has invested $300 million to support the production of Canadian media content for children, family, and youth audiences worldwide.

To learn more about Rocket Fund Canada, go to rocketfund.ca.

About OneFish TwoFish Consulting

OneFish TwoFish Consulting, led by Kim Wilson, supports children's and youth content creators across platforms with focus and user testing, curriculum, developmental expertise, audience development, strategy and cultural consultation.

Kim co-founded and directs TMU's Children's Media Lab, created to focus on children's media in Canada and help content creators put research into practice. She is a frequent speaker and workshop leader for parents, educators and industry. She also teaches Children's Media at TMU and leads research on topics from inclusive storytelling to character strengths in media.

With 25+ years of leadership at TVO Kids and Kids' CBC, Kim is a passionate advocate for Canadian children's content. She serves on the Board of Youth Empowering Parents and holds a degree in media and a master's degree in childhood studies.

Find out more at onefishtwofishconsulting.com

Summary of actions and recommendations

Action 1: Treat Children And Youth As The Rights Holders They Are

• Build Children's Rights in How Canada Funds, Governs and Makes Media
• Establish a permanent federal Minister of Children and Youth 
• Establish a Commissioner of Children and Youth 

Action 2: Create A Protected Children's And Youth Media Fund With New Architecture

• Establish a Permanent, Protected, Two-Track Media Fund For Children and Youth

Action 3: Treat Discoverability And Audience Development As Part Of The Investment

• Fund Audience Development and Discovery Throughout a Project's Life
• Create an Outreach Strategy for Canadian Families to Connect with Canadian Content in their Communities
• A National Day of Canadian Children's and Youth Media
• Launch dedicated, government-led, English and French-language Canadian children's and youth YouTube channels, with the goal of adding more languages.
• A Nationally Recognized Canadian Content Identifier for Children's and Youth Media
• Make Schools a Discovery Channel for Canadian Children's and Youth Content

Action 4: Build Canada's Capacity To Understand Childhood As It Changes

• Establish a National Children's Media Lab Network, a permanent, bilingual, and independently-governed national infrastructure for understanding how children and youth watch, play, listen, create, and discover media; ensuring children and youth have meaningful input into decisions that affect them; and strengthening durable, public accountability for child rights and developmental needs.

Action 5: Make Platforms And AI Accountable To Children's Rights And Development

• Establish governance specific to Canadian children and youth for AI and digital design that brings together development, rights, privacy, safety, culture, language, participation, and accountability. 
• Place accountability on the organizations that design, deploy, fund, regulate and operate digital platforms and AI, not on the children and families that use them.
• Implement a Canadian Children's and Youth AI Code

Action 6: Protect Cultural Continuity Through Francophone and Indigenous Media Pathways and Public Broadcasting

• Create a protected Francophone allocation within the new Children's and Youth Media Fund
• Support an Indigenous-led children's and youth media pathway through a partnership between the new children's and youth fund and the Indigenous Screen Office
• Protect and renew public broadcasters' children's and youth mandates

Read the full report in English here:
https://rocketfund.ca/white-paper

Read the full report in French here:
https://rocketfund.ca/fr/livre-blanc 

SOURCE Rocket Fund Canada