Digital Periodical — Aid to Publishers
The Aid to Publishers component of the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) is designed to provide eligible Canadian publishers of print magazines, print (non-daily) community newspapers and digital periodicals with the financial support they need to produce and distribute high-quality, Canadian editorial content for Canadian readers.
For digital periodicals, funding is granted based on eligible editorial expenditures incurred over a 12-month period.
Who can apply
Eligible publishing firms
To be eligible for funding, publishing firms must meet all of the following requirements:
- be a private-sector entity, which includes corporations, not-for-profit organizations, partnerships and sole proprietorships;
- be majority owned and controlled by Canadians;
- have its principal place of business in Canada;
- have published one or more eligible periodicals at the application deadline;
- maintain eligibility during the term of a grant or contribution agreement.
Eligible periodicals
To be eligible for funding, periodicals must meet all of the following requirements:
- be published by an eligible publishing firm;
- be edited, designed and published in Canada;
- be either a digital-only magazine or digital-only community newspaper;
- maintain a regular publishing schedule in which the majority of editorial content changes at least twice during a 12-month period;
- have completed at least one uninterrupted 12-month publishing cycle at the application deadline;
- continue to be published until at least March 31, 2028;
- have a minimum of editorial expenses of $10,000 in your fiscal year (or $5,000 for official language minority, Indigenous, ethnocultural and 2SLGBTQI+ digital periodicals);
- have generated a minimum revenue of $10,000 (excluding funding from all levels of government and barter agreements) in your fiscal year;
- Present a clearly displayed masthead or contact page that includes, at minimum, the names of the publisher and editor;
- Be available in machine-readable format (for example, through a valid unique or distinct URL, an app for download, email format, or a third-party publishing platform) and provide access to the Program;
- Have a verifiable method of distribution specific to the publication.
Note: The minimum revenue does not apply to official language minority, Indigenous, ethnocultural and 2SLGBTQI+ digital periodicals.
To be eligible for funding, digital periodicals must meet the following minimal requirements for content. An eligible periodical can be published in any language and must meet all the following requirements:
- the original editorial content represents an average of at least 51% of the editorial content in the issues published;
- the Canadian editorial content represents an average of at least 80% of the editorial content in the issues published (or 50% for ethnocultural digital periodicals);
- advertising content represents an average lower than 70% of the content in the issues published;
- have a clear distinction between editorial content, advertising content, advertorial content and sponsored content;
- regularly present written editorial content from more than one person;
- clearly indicate authorship and date of publication of each article and published content;
- the content must mainly be in written format and videos uploaded as content must have a corresponding text article to count towards eligibility.
In addition, applicants must ensure they meet all eligibility criteria detailed in the Application Guidelines 2027-2028 — Aid to Publishers — Digital Periodical.
Application deadline
The application intake period will take place from October 15, 2026, 8 am, to November 12, 2026, 4 pm (ET).
How to apply
Applicants are required to:
- read the Application Guidelines 2027-2028 — Aid to Publishers — Digital Periodical in their entirety
- create or access a Canadian Heritage Funding Portal account and apply online for CPF — Digital periodical — Aid to Publishers
- submit the following supporting documents via the Portal:
- founding documents;
- unlimited access to the digital periodical;
- Web Analytics report which includes:
- URL Address;
- Geographic data;
- Traffic during your fiscal year.
We may request additional information or documents to determine the eligibility of an application.
Contact us
- Address
- Aid to Publishers
Canada Periodical Fund
Department of Canadian Heritage
200 Montcalm St
Gatineau QC J8Y 3B5 - fondsdesperiodiquescanada-canadaperiodicalfund@pch.gc.ca
- Telephone
- 1-866-811-0055 (toll-free)
- TTY
- 1-888-997-3123 (toll-free)
Agents are available to answer your questions, Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 6:30 pm (ET).