Press freedom in Canada — Harbouring Accountability and our Robust Media Ecosystem

In Canada, press freedom is often understood through comparison.

“Press freedom is relative,” said CBC journalist Baseem Boshra. “If you compare Canada to some of the more oppressive regimes in the world, I’d say that we would fare quite well.”

Canada is frequently positioned as a country with a healthy media environment — journalists are able to report without the kinds of overt state repression seen elsewhere. While publicly funded, content remains independent — an important distinction in maintaining press freedom. Still, new challenges are presented as journalism shifts.

“There’s also a robust ecosystem of misinformation and disinformation,” Boshra said. Misleading or false content is increasingly able to mimic the appearance of legitimate journalism, making it difficult for audiences to distinguish between credible reporting and opinion presented as fact.

“It can look slick…be presented by somebody who oozes authority and credibility,” he said. “But what’s missing is a rigorous process.”

The way in which the social media landscape is changing is also an important factor. There seems to be a blurring of roles and boundaries with the rise of independent creators and influencers. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have lowered the barrier to entry, allowing virtually anyone to publish content that resembles news.

“The barrier for entry…is really low,” Boshra said. “The lines get blurred.”

While he expresses much respect toward independent journalism, Boshra also emphasizes the need for transparency in journalistic process and standards. He mentioned that traditional newsrooms must also do more to communicate how their work is produced.

“Letting people know what we do and why we do it,” he said, is essential to building audience trust.

As audiences navigate an increasingly crowded digital landscape, credibility is no longer assumed — it must be demonstrated.

“Objectivity has sort of gone out the window in recent years,” Boshra said, though he maintains that striving for accuracy remains central to credible journalism. Boshra shared that his work with the CBC involves addressing misconceptions about how journalism works. In an era of heightened skepticism, even standard practices, such as editing interviews for length, can be misinterpreted as manipulation.

“We’re not going to put a 90-minute interview in a two-and-a-half-minute news report,” Boshra said. “We believe the clips that we present reflect very transparently what the interview was about.”

This tension highlights a broader issue — media literacy.

As misinformation becomes more sophisticated, the responsibility to accurately comprehend and evaluate news falls on the consumer. For journalists, this means not only reporting the news, but also explaining how it is produced.

Still, misinformation isn’t the only challenge — access is an escalating concern.

“There are things that I think cause media concern here in Canada,” he said, speaking on a growing issue — access.

In recent years, journalists have found it increasingly difficult to secure in-person interviews. Official organizations often opt to respond with prepared, written statements.

“We often get statements as opposed to in-person interviews,” Boshra said. “It doesn’t provide you the opportunity to push back…journalists really hate being put in the position of being stenographers.”

The implications of this shift are significant — when journalists are not granted access to direct interviews, they sacrifice some of the ability to hold those in power accountable.

Still, the broadness of Canada’s media ecosystem offers a counterbalance.

“We have a pretty robust media ecosystem,” Boshra said, describing a landscape that includes public broadcasters, private outlets, and independent journalists. This diversity, he argues, makes it more difficult for those in power to control the flow of information. “You have a critical mass of people…with a shared desire to hold those in power to account.”

The future of journalism in Canada may depend less on any single institution and more on the strength of the ecosystem as a whole.

 “The healthiest that Canadian media can be is when we have a robust ecosystem of all kinds of media,” he said — public, private, independent, and advocacy-driven.

In this environment, press freedom is not simply about legal protections, but about access, trust, and transparency. Canada may fare well in global comparisons, but maintaining that position will require ongoing adaptation in a rapidly evolving media landscape.