The decline of the Canadian novel is partly the story of governments failing to prevent foreign takeovers of Canadian publishing houses. Consolidation into multinational firms pushed Canadian publishers to the margins and reduced their willingness to take risks on books aimed primarily at a Canadian audience. This would blunt the advantage multinational firms enjoy by dumping already-paid-for content into the Canadian market, and would give Canadian publishers revenue to invest in Canadian writers. This would give Canadian books, podcasts and other media a fighting chance to be found. If it is true that one should never waste a crisis, Stursberg makes a compelling case that Canadian culture is in one.

Source: National Post February 10, 2026 12:11 UTC