TikTok Canada Ends Sponsorship of Juno Awards Ahead of National Ban

TikTok Canada will no longer sponsor the Juno Awards, Canada’s most prestigious music awards. The company has also ended sponsorships with several other cultural programs, including the music-forward nonprofits, MusiCounts and ADISQ. This development comes in the wake of an incoming ban on the app’s operations.

Background:

• In November 2024, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry in Ottawa ordered ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to shut down its offices in Vancouver and Toronto. The ban was due to national security concerns.

• Canadian users will still be able to access the app after the offices close.

Sponsorship history:

• TikTok Canada has been the lead sponsor of the Juno Awards since 2020.

• The company was also the title sponsor of the Juno Fan Choice Award, and a sponsor of MusiCounts, ADISQ, and the Toronto Film Festival.

What they said:

• Steve de Eyre, director of public policy and government affairs, TikTok Canada: “This harmful and misguided order not only eliminates funding for investments in Canadian culture and content creators — including programs like the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators — it also requires us to terminate hundreds of local jobs.”