Aysanabee prepares for headlining tour across northwestern Ontario
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4 hours ago
TikTok Canada is closing soon. The Beaches and bbno$ warn it will hurt homegrown artists
In 2021, a TikTok of Canadian rapper bbno$ raising his eyebrows to the beat of his single Edamame started gaining traction — and eventually changed the course of his career. The platform's Canadian team suggested he recreate the clip with a safari-themed filter, then helped push it globally. When that happened, the song just skyrocketed, he says of the track, which features Indonesian rapper Rich Brian and went six-times Platinum in various countries. bbno$ is among several Canadian artists worried about losing social media support that can make or break their careers as TikTok prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down its operations in Canada. For Canadian musicians, TikTok can be as vital as radio play once was. Its algorithm lets songs leap borders instantly, offering emerging acts — especially racialized artists facing barriers in traditional channels — a shot at global reach. With Ottawa's dissolution order set to take effect soon, TikTok Canada's team has been running campaigns to show its value — and Canadian artists are rallying behind them. LISTEN | B.C. rapper bbno$ nominated for Juno Award (new window) Being an artist in this generation is like, you're basically a TikTokker, says the Juno-winning rapper, born Alexander Gumuchian. Without having a TikTok team that I can relay information to — that could help me get banners, help me when things are starting to bubble — I'm losing ammunition to help fire my career up. Concerns around access to user data behind government's move In November 2024, Ottawa ordered TikTok's Canadian arm to dissolve (new window) following a national security review of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd., though the app will remain accessible in Canada. The order cited national security risks but a government spokesperson declined to provide specifics due to confidentiality provisions. Social media researcher Philip Mai says there are concerns around potential Chinese government access to user data, foreign surveillance of Canadians in sensitive sectors and misuse of information for propaganda. China's National Intelligence Law legally permits data access, raising plausible risk concerns, says the co-director of the Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School of Management. WATCH | Canada has ordered TikTok's offices closed. Should you still be on the app?: Still, no public evidence shows TikTok has shared user data with the Chinese government, and the company denies it. Mai says shutting down TikTok Canada reduces its physical and legal presence in the country, limiting the platform's potential for data surveillance and its ability to influence policy or public opinion. This strategy is less extreme than banning TikTok, but more than a slap on the wrist, he says. bbno$ says the platform's Canadian team has helped bolster his social media presence. Without it, he warns, many Canadian artists will face a bottleneck in their careers. Juno-winning Toronto band the Beaches says TikTok Canada has been instrumental in their rise. Without local teams championing Canadian musicians internationally, we're left competing with American artists as outsiders, not as domestic talent, says the group in a statement. This puts us at a disadvantage and pushes Canadian artists to leave the country just to have a shot at global success. Though the Beaches have enjoyed Canadian radio airplay for years, their single Blame Brett went viral on TikTok in 2023, helping them reach the U.S. Billboard charts for the first time. Mai warns TikTok Canada's closure would be a big blow to Canadian artists, reducing opportunities, support systems, grant programs and sponsorships. Enlarge image (new window) 'We're just four best friends from Toronto who wanted to start a band,' the Beaches said after winning group of the year. Photo: Ryan Bolton Photography/CARAS Forcing the closure of TikTok's Canadian operation will likely decrease Canadian visibility in the algorithm, he says, noting local staff often boost regional content via tailored campaigns, including ones highlighting Indigenous creators. Last month, TikTok CEO Shou Chew asked (new window) Minister of Industry Melanie Joly for an urgent meeting, warning that shutting down TikTok Canada would force layoffs, halt investments and pull support from creators and culture. The wind-up process is rapidly approaching a critical juncture, Chew wrote. TikTok declined to provide a date and to say whether it has heard back from Joly, who did not respond to questions about the meeting request. Loss for racialized alum of TikTok's Accelerator program, creators say The platform recently withdrew sponsorships for several Canadian arts institutions, including the Juno Awards and TIFF, and slashed the National Screen Institute's TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, which has supported nearly 400 participants since 2021. Indigenous hoop dancer James Jones says the federal government's shutdown order shows a disregard for the country's digital creators. It's really unfortunate that they are taking away a team that has been so supportive of the BIPOC community and the Indigenous community, says the Edmonton-based creator, who boasts over four million followers. LISTEN | Indigenous creators get a boost from TikTok accelerator program (new window) I don't think that anyone has ever asked us what we wanted or even reached out and said, `Hey, how is this going to affect you? ' Jones says early in his career, TikTok Canada offered advice on maximizing his reach and facilitating key connections with brands and publications. He says its Accelerator program has helped many Indigenous creators and small businesses. Jones feels the government is sending a message that we're not being prioritized. They don't care what happens to us, they don't care about our businesses, our brands, he says. They don't care about how it affects us personally to not have access to a team that supports us directly. Vanessa Brousseau, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous people, says the government's decision feels really painful, but familiar. It feels like a pattern and a way of oppressing minorities, oppressing Indigenous people, says the alum of the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators. TikTok is the only platform that amplifies our voices and makes sure we're being heard. Brousseau worries that if the decision isn't reversed, it will be very detrimental to Indigenous TikTok creators. Sure, TikTok will still be there, but we won't be amplified anymore. We won't have those connections. We won't have those opportunities. Corrections A previous version of this story on the CBC News website referred to TikTok CEO Steven Chew. The TikTok CEO's name is Shou Chew. Aug 20, 2025 11:05 AM EDT
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
How to travel like comedian Ben Stager this summer
From the OnRoute in Cambridge, Ont., to a parking lot in Hamilton where Bob Dylan once gave an interview, entertainer Ben Stager shows off landmarks you probably haven't heard of. He told CBC Hamilton his advice on how to travel this summer.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ally's Ribbons assembles group of Indigenous designers, models for iconic Milan Fashion Week
Alyssia Sutherland was her own first client. Now, she's taking a delegation of Indigenous designers and models — including some from northern Manitoba First Nations — to Milan Fashion Week (Sept. 23-29) in Italy. 'One individual going to Milan, we can't make a wave or a splash,' Sutherland said. 'My goal is to get as much people as we can to these opportunities.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Ally's Ribbons, her business, is no stranger to the spotlight. Since launching in 2020, Sutherland's ribbon skirts have been shown at fashion weeks in New York and Paris, and at the Cannes Indigenous Arts and Fashion Festival. Milan is the widest net Sutherland has cast yet: nine designers and 26 models are in tow, part of a group of roughly 100 heading to Italy with Ally's Ribbons. Some come from Sutherland's home community of Peguis First Nation. Others come from Sagkeeng, Opaskwayak and Berens River in Manitoba, and 'all over Turtle Island,' including the United States. 'It's really important for us to let people know that we're here, we've always been here and we'll continue to be here,' said Sutherland, 29. 'We're going to show the world through our art.' She grew up watching her grandmother sew dresses. In 2018, her mother-in-law taught her to work a sewing machine. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Sutherland made her own ribbon skirt, a traditional Indigenous garment with rows of colourful ribbons. 'I started going to ceremony and there was a lot of people recognizing my ribbon work,' Sutherland recalled. They asked her to make them skirts. Soon, through word of mouth, Sutherland's wares were coveted throughout the province. She created an Instagram page for her work in January 2020. It became a tool for receiving orders around Canada and beyond. Sutherland credits two Indigenous celebrities for growing her customer base. Fawn Wood, an Alberta musician, bought a skirt from Sutherland in 2021 and showed it off to fans via social media. A year later, actress Crystle Lightning tapped Sutherland to create an Indigenous poodle ribbon skirt. The handmade skirt was used in performances of Bear Grease, an Indigenous reimagining of the long-running musical Grease. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Each Ally's Ribbons creation is unique. It's helped increase appeal, Sutherland relayed. 'I make ribbon to make a statement,' she said. 'I don't like replicating stuff.' She contacted a Canadian Indigenous production house about joining it for the Cannes Indigenous Arts and Fashion Festival in 2023. The answer came back yes — bring yourself, your designer brother and 11 looks. 'We didn't know what we were doing,' Sutherland said. Her brother, Terrance Thomas, creates the men's pieces under Ally's Ribbons' umbrella. The duo met their models and learned the ropes when they arrived at the event in France. 'To be in that environment with other designers and models, just proud to be there, was such an eye-opening thing,' Sutherland shared. 'The Milan show is kind of my test of, 'Can I put on a good show? I am not making any money from this production.'– Alyssia Sutherland Trips to New York and Paris fashion weeks followed in 2023 and 2024. Sutherland started bringing her own models. She pitched a bigger Indigenous fashion showcase — one with several designers overseen by Ally's Ribbons — to the production company she works with, HiTechModa. The result will unfurl Sept. 28 in Italy. 'The Milan show is kind of my test of, 'Can I put on a good show?'' Sutherland said. 'I am not making any money from this production.' Designers joining the roughly one-hour event include Thomas, April Slater from Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) and Dreyden Flett Roulette from Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Ally's Ribbons models have been preparing since May. Ocean Bruyere, the company's head model, is coaching the group. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS 'We really focus on mental health and supporting our models because there's a lot of barriers we have to get through, especially as being Indigenous people,' said Bruyere, 28. 'We're stepping into a colonial environment that is used to seeing one look and one look only.' The models represent different sects within Indigenous culture, including Afro-Indigenous. 'There's no set standard for age, size or appearance,' said Bruyere, who's from Sagkeeng First Nation. 'Me and Ally really want to focus on showing a variety of people.' Meditation, cultural practices and team bonding activities are interwoven into the runway preparation, Bruyere said: 'We have to learn how to be OK with our skin colour, the way our bodies are shaped, the way our eyes are shaped.' 'We really focus on mental health and supporting our models because there's a lot of barriers we have to get through, especially as being Indigenous people. We're stepping into a colonial environment that is used to seeing one look and one look only.'– Ally's Ribbons' head model Ocean Bruyere Lucy Kemp, who's walking the Milan runway with Ally's Ribbons, called the troupe a 'really healthy, holistic group of people.' She's co-organizing a fundraiser to cover Milan trip expenses. Ally's Ribbons models will walk in a fashion show Sept. 5 to raise money. Fashion week trips are pricey, Sutherland explained. 'Top clothing houses are there represented,' Indigenous Chamber of Commerce president Renee Greyeyes said of Milan Fashion Week. 'For us to have that recognition means that our clothing, our cultural attire, is being accepted on a world stage.' Gucci, Versace and Fendi regularly take spots at the prestigious event. Greyeyes has noticed ribbon skirts increasingly being worn in Manitoba spaces. Provincial government event invites now offer a dress code of business and cultural attire, a change made since Wab Kinew became premier, Greyeyes said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS 'We're not embarrassed to wear (ribbon skirts) anymore,' she added. 'It's quite different from 30 years ago.' She called Sutherland a 'really strong example within the Indigenous business community.' Sutherland aims to start a modelling agency within the next year, building on work Ally's Ribbons is currently doing. First, though, Sutherland is focused on getting her crew to Milan. Ally's Ribbons is selling $28 tickets to its September show, happening at Swish Studios at 290 McDermot Ave., on Eventbrite online. Organizers have dubbed the evening event 'Manitoba to Milan' and will host a pop-up market. There will be tickets at the door. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
