In recent years, Canada legislated the most significant amendments to cultural policy in over a generation aimed at addressing a policy drift amid digital disruption. With wide criticism for these reforms, they are assumed have garnered negative reception in absence a digital tax; however, the legal intricacies of often inconsistent, and overlapping digital tax measures advocated for in Canada remain largely unexamined.

Against this background, the OECD/G20 are anticipated to implement the most fundamental overhauling of the international tax system in over a century, with a focus on addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. Recognizing that for a solution to be delivered in the coming year, there will need to be a consensus reached by OECD/G20 member countries by July 2021, this study considers the contingency of effective reforms, and alternative measures under consideration by the Government of Canada.

Evidence suggests that a solution to today’s digital tax challenges is perhaps a caveat for addressing the issues of Canada’s cultural policy that center upon its failure to keep pace with the digital creative economy. Observations consider the bearing equitable taxation has on the Canadian government’s general tax revenues necessary to fund direct spending programs. In order to link industry-specific government spending with industry-specific behaviour, underlying ties between new Canadian media and digital taxation are investigated, so as to examine opportunities for sustainable cultural policy and funding in the Canadian context.