Yesterday, Minister Rodriguez announced the launch of a new funding initiative to help Canadian booksellers increase their ability to sell books online, in order to strengthen the sustainability of their operations in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic fuelled a sharp increase in demand for online book sales, resulting in logistical challenges and extra labour, technology, and shipping costs. Investments are needed to help Canadian booksellers improve their online business models. This will help them to be more competitive in the digital marketplace and continue to get Canadian books into the hands of readers. Online Canadian book sales benefit the entire book industry, from authors to publishers to booksellers.

This new program will invest $32.1 million in bookstores over two years for expenses related to online book sales and to help these bookstores improve their online business models. New funding will also support collective projects that build industry capacity for online Canadian book sales. Support for these projects will be available through the existing Support for Organizations component.

I encourage booksellers in Fleetwood—Port Kells to consider applying. The deadline to apply is April 25, 2022.

You can read more about this initiative at Government of Canada helps Canadian booksellers expand online book sales - Canada.ca.

If you’re interested in applying, visit Support for Booksellers – Canada Book Fund - Canada.ca.

If you have questions on how to apply, you can visit Application Guidelines – Support for Booksellers - Canada.ca.

You may also contact our constituency office at 604-501-5900 or by email at [email protected].