Canadian Heritage’s Canada Periodical Fund has committed $84,080 to the Starfish Environmental Society for “Piloting youth climate journalism using a multi-publication approach” and $47,959 to the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association for a “BIPOC Internship Project,” records reviewed by Rebel News show.
The Starfish and Alberta awards appear in the department’s proactive disclosure of grants and contributions for July to September 2026, and the Starfish agreement starts October 1, 2026.
The disclosure lists eleven awards totalling $452,106 under two streams. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of colour.
Under the Changing Narratives Fund, the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers got $32,446 for “Speech is Power: Raising Up Underrepresented Voices to Present to the Magazine Industry,” the Vancouver Association for the Survivors of Torture got $50,000 for “Voices Against Torture (VAT): Changing Narratives through Editorial and Production Mentorship,” the National Media Awards Foundation got $83,757 for “Changing Narratives: Building Career Pathways in Magazine and Digital Media,” the Maple Bamboo Network Society got $21,194 for “NextGen Canadian Filipino Net: Building the Next Generation of Ethnocultural Digital Storytellers,” and the Society of We Are Canadians Too got $20,000 for “Beyond Chinese: Newcomer Storytelling & Community Media Mentorship Initiative.”
Under Collective Initiatives, alongside Starfish, Press Forward got $36,170 for “The Future of Independent Media Summit 2026,” Glacier FarmMedia got $32,000 and $25,000 for a study of agricultural media and a mentorship model for agricultural journalism, and Le Journal Franco-Albertain got $19,500 for “Magazine Plume Jeunesse.”
Canadian Heritage says the Changing Narratives Fund “will not be renewed and will sunset, as planned, on March 31, 2027,” so these awards fall in its final year.
Press Forward launched in December 2020 as a national association to “unify, elevate and advocate for independent journalism organizations in Canada.” Its founding members included The Tyee, The Narwhal, the National Observer and Village Media.
The Starfish’s website tells young people to “Build skills. Connect with changemakers. Lead climate action.” It previously received $10,110 from the same fund for The Starfish Canada Youth Journal in 2024-25.
The department’s guidelines say Collective Initiatives money is meant to “explore and test new business models and digital opportunities for the periodical industry” and to “raise the profile of the periodical industry among advertisers, readers, creators, and as a career opportunity for Canadians.”
Marc Miller has been Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, responsible for Canadian Heritage, since December 1, 2025, when he replaced Steven Guilbeault. The records do not name who approved the awards.
Eleven awards, $452,106, and the titles tell the reader what Ottawa’s magazine fund considers a priority.
