Postal subsidies and the Canadian book industry: The effects of Covid-19 on online sales

For over forty years, the Canadian government has actively funded the Canadian book industry through the Canada Book Fund's (CBF) grants and contributions; however, it has been over two decades since the industry had a postal subsidy. Due to the rise of online print book sales and the challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic such as store closures, the book industry is now lobbying for the return of an industry-wide postal subsidy. This report will analyze the history of postal subsidies in Canada, the changes in technology and the changes in the book industry due to Covid-19, as well as the current federal funding in order to assess the necessity of a postal subsidy for the Canadian book industry post Covid-19.