When you buy a book, you’re doing more than adding to your shelf — you’re investing in a vast creative network that stretches far beyond the author’s name on the cover.

Editors, designers, printers, warehouse workers, marketers and countless others help bring that book to life. Many of the people involved in that process — and the companies that employ them — are Canadian. But up until now, it hasn’t always been obvious when buying a book meant investing in a Canadian business.

The Certified Canadian Publisher program, launched this fall by the Association of Canadian Publishers, or ACP, is a bid to change that. Its premise is straightforward: make Canadian ownership visible to readers.

The program introduces a seal that appears on the back cover, spine or copyright page of participating publishers’ books. With one glance, readers can see when a title comes from a Canadian-owned press and know their purchase is directly supporting a Canadian company.

Making Canadian ownership visible

We’ve all been told to “buy local,” but when it comes to books, “local” often stops at the author’s nationality. The truth is, a book written by a Canadian author can easily be published — and profited from — by a multinational company based elsewhere.

While Canadian-owned firms publish about 80 per cent of English-language books by Canadian authors, they accounted for just 5.6 per cent of reported sales in 2024. With more than 500 multinational imprints competing for shelf space and digital discoverability, Canadian publishers often get lost.

Just as “Made in Canada” labels help consumers choose local food and retail goods, the Certified Canadian Publisher program gives book buyers an easy way to spot titles from Canadian-owned houses.

A ripple effect across industries

Buying from certified Canadian publishers doesn’t just sustain writers and presses — it fuels a much larger creative ecosystem. Each dollar spent with a Canadian publisher circulates through multiple industries:

• Printers who produce the books, often in Canadian facilities
• Sales reps, distributors and booksellers who get those titles into readers’ hands
• Libraries, educators and cultural institutions that rely on Canadian-published works to reflect our communities back to themselves

It’s an ecosystem that keeps cultural capital and employment at home, and that supports the next generation of Canadian talent — not just the authors on the cover, but the many people working behind the scenes to bring their books to life.

“Publishing is a community effort,” says Alana Wilcox, president of the Association of Canadian Publishers. “When you buy a book from a Canadian-owned press, you’re supporting a whole chain of people and skills that exist right here — people who believe in Canadian stories and make them happen.”

Keeping Canadian voices in the spotlight

While the seal is new, the idea behind it isn’t.

Canadian publishers have long been champions of voices that might not otherwise find a platform in larger commercial contexts — from experimental literary work to regionally rooted non-fiction to vital conversations around reconciliation, equity and inclusion.

The Certified Canadian Publisher program helps ensure those publishers — and the voices they champion — aren’t overlooked.

And for readers, it’s an empowering choice. Every purchase from a certified Canadian publisher supports the people and ideas that make our cultural landscape richer and more distinctive.

Building momentum

The Certified Canadian Publisher program currently includes more than 70 verified publishers across the country, from coast to coast to coast.

These presses publish hundreds of titles each year — from children’s books and literary fiction to poetry, academic works and educational texts.

As the program expands through 2026, the seal will appear more frequently on bookshelves.

Retailers and libraries are also being encouraged to use the seal in displays and catalogues, making Canadian ownership a more visible — and celebrated — part of book discovery.

Why it matters now

At a moment when global trade tensions, supply chain challenges and corporate consolidation dominate much of the economy, initiatives like the Certified Canadian Publisher program offer a reminder that local ownership still matters.

They give consumers an easy way to align their everyday choices with their values — and to help keep Canada’s creative industries strong and self-sustaining.

As the program takes root, its value may be as much symbolic as practical: a clear signal that Canadian publishing is alive and worth supporting.

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For more information, and to discover certified Canadian publishers, visit www.certifiedcanadianpublisher.com. The Certified Canadian Publisher program is made possible with the financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage and Ontario Creates, and in partnership with Foreword Book Printing.

About ACP: The Association of Canadian Publishers is the national voice of English-language Canadian-owned book publishers. ACP contributes to the development and maintenance of vibrant, competitive book publishing companies in order to support and strengthen the contribution that Canadian books make to Canada’s cultural, economic and educational landscape.

This article is part of a Tyee Presents initiative. Tyee Presents is the special sponsored content section within The Tyee where we highlight contests, events and other initiatives that are put on either by us or by our select partners. The Tyee does not and cannot vouch for or endorse products advertised on The Tyee. We choose our partners carefully and consciously, to fit with The Tyee’s reputation as B.C.’s Home for News, Culture and Solutions. Learn more about Tyee Presents.

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