Two of Canada’s biggest news companies, as well as the country’s largest media workers union, have joined the ranks of organizations who are pulling their advertising from Facebook and Instagram.

Parent company Meta plans to block news content from Facebook and Instagram as a response to the Online News Act, which would force companies that share news content with Canadians to negotiate with outlets to share revenue. The company has not yet said whether its plans would extend to Threads, its new competitor to Twitter, though the language of the Act suggests its rules apply to operators of the digital platforms, instead of individual platforms themselves.

Torstar is pulling all of its advertising from both Facebook and Instagram, effective Thursday evening. The move covers all of the company’s daily publications, which include The Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, Niagara Falls Review and Peterborough Examiner. It also covers the community newspapers under Metroland Media.

“It is critical that we ensure all Canadians have full access to trusted, reliable news and journalism,” said Neil Oliver, Torstar’s CEO. “By its action, Meta will be deliberately closing one of the main ways that Canadians currently access news. Such access is critical for the long-term health of our democracy.”

Oliver added that the company “fully supports the Online News Act,” and hopes to once again work with Facebook and Instagram as a partner in the future. That includes, Oliver said, discussions with Meta on the companies’ respective positions on the Online News Act.

Postmedia has also paused “all direct company advertising” on Meta platforms. The company operates over 130 daily newspapers, community outlets and specialty web platforms.

“Our government recently made important steps by passing the Online News Act,” said Andrew MacLeod, president and CEO, Postmedia. “There is no greater proof of the critical need for this law at this time than the actions taken upon its passing. We hope to work together to ensure that all parties can do what the Online News Act allows for, to bargain fairly, level the playing field and preserve journalism in Canada.”

In an announcement made Thursday afternoon, Unifor said it would be pulling all of its advertising from Meta-owned platforms in support of its members, alongside a call for all governments and private-sector advertisers that had not yet done so to also pull their advertising.

Unifor represents workers at several news outlets and media companies, including Torstar, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, Bell Media, Corus and Rogers Sports & Media. In an email to MiC, the company said “the vast majority” of its digital social advertising was through Meta-owned platforms.

On Wednesday, both the federal government and Quebecor announced they would be pulling advertising from Meta-owned platforms in response to the company’s plans to block news for Canadian users. After Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez made his announcement, he was joined by the Government of Quebec in pausing Meta ads, along with the City of Montreal and several other municipal governments in the province.

Google has also said that it plans to block news for Canadian visitors, but Rodriguez said during a press conference Wednesday that it was only pulling ads from Meta because he believed a solution to Google’s concerns would emerge from the regulatory process, whereas Meta has had “a very aggressive campaign” and was not willing to

The Government of Quebec does not break out its spending on advertising, but the federal government’s most recent advertising expenditure report showed that it spent $11.4 million on Facebook and Instagram advertising from 2021 to 2022. Rodriguez said during a press conference that the spending who be reinvested into other platforms.

Before the end of the day on Wednesday, CBC, La Presse and Cogeco had also joined Quebecor in the ranks of media companies that would no longer be advertising on Meta platforms. None of the companies provided the exact amounts they spend on Meta advertising.

Meta has not set a date for when it plans to block news from its platforms, beyond that it would be before the Online News Act comes into effect, which is set to happen some time before the end of the year.