Photo: Royal Canadian Mint/Facebook It is a Charles III wearing his crimson velvet robe and his crown decorated with ermine fur which illustrates the sponsored publication on the social network Facebook.
The Royal Canadian Mint does not feel concerned by the federal government's announcement to end its advertising on Meta platforms, and is trying to boost sales of its collector coins online. effigy of King Charles III on Facebook.
It is a Charles III wearing his crimson velvet robe and his crown decorated with ermine fur which illustrates the sponsored publication on the social network Facebook. The image appears forcefully on Internet users' feeds, accompanied by a simple message in all capital letters: “His majesty, King Charles III.” The online ad, running starting May 6, links to the page for the Royal Canadian Mint's new collectible dollar, selling for the modest sum of $89.95. “Celebrate Her Majesty’s coronation anniversary with this symbol of continuity, tradition and duty,” reads its description.
However, the Trudeau government promised last July to stop “all” advertising spending on Meta platforms.
The federal government is still in a standoff with the Californian multinational, which has decided to remove news from the Facebook and Instagram platforms in Canada so as not to be forced to share its advertising revenue with media companies, in accordance with the new Online News Act.
“We are not going to let ourselves be intimidated by American billionaires who want to harm our democracy,” Justin Trudeau chanted.
State corporations excluded
In an email to Devoir, the Royal Canadian Mint specifies that as a Crown corporation, it has never received any ministerial directive preventing it from doing business with Facebook or another Meta platform.
“As a Crown corporation established with the aim of making a profit, we have Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to interact with our customers and raise awareness of our products,” adds spokesperson Alexandre Reeves.
Last July, the Minister of Canadian Heritage at the time, Pablo Rodriguez, did not mention anything suggesting that state corporations could continue to spend on Meta with peace of mind. On the contrary, he went so far as to encourage private companies that have no connection with the government to join the boycott movement.
“I hear other companies raising the possibility. We act within our field of competence which is the one which gives us the power to suspend our advertising, all our advertising on Meta, on Facebook and on Instagram,” he said during a joint press conference. with the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Success of the royal coins
The Royal Canadian Mint is refusing to disclose the price of seven ads ordered from Facebook between May 6 and 8, claiming its marketing activities are “commercially sensitive” information. The institution refers to its annual report, which records spending of $32,300 on marketing for the year 2023.
Le Devoirreported that the Crown corporation paid nothing in dividends to the Government of Canada last year, even though it had been sending sums amounting to tens of millions of dollars each year since 2011. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, however, was her salvation, as sales of her collectible coins bearing the effigy of royal sovereigns surged.
At the end of the phone, Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin criticizes “the British royal ideology” which, according to him, guides the actions of the federal institution, “disconnected” from Quebecers' lack of appetite for the monarchy. “I understand that the advertising ban does not affect state companies, but we would have appreciated a certain solidarity” with Meta, he comments.
The current Minister of Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, did not respond to questions from Devoir on Friday. His department confirmed at the end of the day that the suspension of advertising on Meta platforms was limited to the 97 departments subject to the Federal Policy on Communications and Branding.
The Liberal government drafted an entire bill based on the premise that there is an “imbalance” to be resolved in the online advertising market 79% captured by Google and Meta. Bill C-18, which received the approval of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, but not the Conservative Party, received royal assent last June. Google then agreed with the Government of Canada to fund the media to the tune of $100 million.