Canadian media: how they work and what they write about Russia and Ukraine

Every medium is marked by the notorious national character of the country in which it exists — be it French intemperance, English rigour, American condescension or Canadian benevolence.

Also, any media is shaped by the news that happens around it — so a notional Japanese newspaper pays more attention to the likelihood of a tsunami than a hypothetical Swiss radio station. And that's why there are so many stories about animals in the Canadian media — the fact is that there are actually quite a few of them going on in Canada.

So what are the specifics of Canadian media — besides stories about beavers getting stuck in a fence and raccoons breaking into someone's house?

Canadian media

According to a 2008 study by Abby Goodrum and Elizabeth Godot of Ryerson University (Toronto), who analyzed newscasts from two Canadian television stations (public CBC and private CTV), the top five most cited countries were:

• USA;
• UK;
• Israel;
• Afghanistan;
• Iraq.

Meanwhile, the US accounted for 44.6% of TV broadcasts, while the UK followed with only 8.3%.

So the conclusion is simple: Canadian news consists mainly of local stories and news from the neighbouring United States, with little attention paid to the rest of the world. Incidentally, the abundance of the United States on the news agenda has long been a source of concern to Canadians and authorities alike. Some publications have even introduced "Canadian quotas" requiring journalists to dilute American events with local news.

In addition, there is a particular problem associated with the large number of immigrants in Canada — the fact is that they do not receive information about the countries where they come from and whose fate is important to them. For example, Canada has a huge Chinese diaspora, and the presence of China (and Asian countries in general) in news coverage is minimal (about 2.45%). This causes widespread discontent in the multicultural Canadian society. To some extent, however, this problem has been solved through multicultural media — and since the late 1980s, when the government first decided to support media in the native languages of numerous diasporas.

Nevertheless, scholars analyzing Canadians' attitudes towards the media in the Internet age have noted a steady decline in Canadians' trust in domestic media.

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According to a study by McGill University professor Mark Raboy, Canadians' trust in any form of media is less than 50%:

• Radio — 50%;
• Internet — 47%;
• Newspapers — 43%;
• Television — 42%;
• Magazines — 33%;
• Social media — 13-14%.

What they write about Russia and Ukraine

From what has been said, it is clear that Canada pays very little attention to the CIS countries.

Ukraine, because of its special relationship with Canada, appears from time to time in the press. Last year it was, of course, related to the shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner by Iranian authorities on January 8, 2020, with 138 Canadians on board. Ukraine and Canada were closely involved during the initial investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy, and media coverage of the process focused a lot of attention on the actions of the Ukrainian side.

Prior to the tragedy of January 8, Ukraine was featured in the Canadian press in connection with military cooperation between the two countries — in particular, the supply of Canadian weapons to the territory of Ukraine. In addition, in the summer of 2019, Canada allocated $45 million to Ukraine, as well as met with the new president. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's three-day visit was widely covered in the Canadian press.

"Zelensky came to Toronto in part to appease those who doubted the ability of the actor who played the President in the TV series to do the job in real life," the National Post wrote at the time.

During the visit, Zelenskyy and Trudeau announced their intention to sign an agreement on youth exchange between the two countries, which would simplify the procedure for obtaining a visa to work or study for up to 1 year. Since then, by the way, there has been progress: the countries created a working group on the immigration of Ukrainians to Canada.

In addition to visa facilitation, the heads of Ukraine and Canada discussed issues related to the territories of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. In particular, it was stated that Canada would not allow travelers with passports issued in Donbas and Luhansk Region to enter the country.

As for Russia, as some immigrants write, the notes are rather low-key and short, consisting mostly of facts and a minimum of evaluation. Unless something very high-profile happens — like the Alexei Navalny story, when the Canadian media first ran the news about the poisoning, later the rallies and finally the calls to release the oppositionist.

Occasionally, Russia still emerges in the Canadian press because of spy scandals. For example, in 2015, two young Canadian brothers of Russian descent were stripped of their Canadian citizenship because their parents turned out to be spies who had appropriated the identities of dead Canadians. In March 2020, a new spy story appeared in the news: this time, the Russian wife of a former Canadian civil servant was stripped of her citizenship for her association with the FSB in the 1990s.

On the whole, Canada does not feel any emotions towards Russia. At least, it did not until the end of the 2010s. And this media attitude reflects the attitude of ordinary Canadians to Russia and Ukraine. Most often they know little about these countries, so they cannot form any particular opinion about the events there.

However, Russia often appears in the news in connection with one extremely important activity for Canadians. Hockey is Canada's pride and sore spot. Any finals, blowout games, and other dramatic events in hockey life are taken very personally here. Therefore, any matches against the Russian national team are commented very emotionally, but not without respect for the skill of the players.

Nor does the Canadian media forget about the Russian president's special relationship with hockey, which apparently generates some sympathy.

"Putin celebrated his 63rd birthday with his usual bang for his buck. The Russian president played in an amateur hockey game alongside such legends as Vyacheslav Fetisov and Pavel Bure, personally scoring seven goals," the Canadian media wrote in 2015.

Another topic that periodically appears in the Canadian press is the Arctic. As we know, in addition to Canada, the Arctic Council includes Russia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. Therefore, from time to time, when the northern powers decide to divide the Arctic once again, Russia appears in the Canadian news.

Of course, the growing tensions around Russia in recent years, caused by the war in Ukraine and other events, could not help but be reflected in Canadian media reports.

In particular, the 2019 explosion at a military test site near Severodvinsk gave most of the Canadian media an opportunity to comment not only on the state of the Russian military industrial complex, but also on Russian politics in general over the past decade.

Thus, one of Canada's largest newspapers, The Globe and Mail, shared its fears that the Russian leader's ambitions, combined with the country's aging missile arsenal (including nuclear weapons), could have unpleasant consequences for the world, either under the current president or after he leaves.

In addition, the incident at the test site was put by the journalist on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Other Canadian media expressed similar concerns about the ongoing political processes in Russia.

To summarize, we should say that the Canadian press does not feel any special love or hatred towards the CIS countries, just as it does towards most other countries. Apart from the United States, but these relations deserve a separate large article.