Young people consume TV content, music mainly from outside Quebec

Most young people aged 15 to 29 in Quebec mainly watch television content from outside Quebec. Only eight per cent mainly watch content from Quebec.

On Tuesday, the Institut de la statistique du Québec reported that 64 per cent of these young people watch content primarily from outside Quebec, whether on a streaming platform, an app, a website, or directly on television.

“With social media and all, a lot of content from the U.S. and things like that are really popular, so I’m not really surprised myself personally,” said Aïna Pichoux-Rond, a Montrealer.

Pauline Pasquier, another Montrealer, says, “I’m interested in watching more Quebec content, but it’s not really advertised.”

Lysandre Champagne, a researcher with the Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec, says, “When there is a subscription to traditional television or to a Quebec‑based online streaming platform — for example, Tou.TV or Illico — young people are more likely to watch content that is mainly Quebec‑made, or an equal mix of Quebec and international content.”

This finding also applies to music listening among these young people.

“My top artist was actually the Cowboys Fringants last year,” said Pichoux-Rond.

Pasquier said, “I listen to Mac Miller, Abba, Taming Pala, Cigarette for Sex, Role Model.”

Among young people aged 15 to 29 who listened to music in Quebec in 2024, only 3.9 per cent had listened mainly to music by Quebec artists in the past 12 months.

In contrast, 69 per cent of them had listened mainly to music by artists from outside Quebec.

“I don’t know who is a Quebec artist because I’m Japanese, so I always listen to U.K. artists and American artists and sometimes Japanese artists and I don’t know this one either,” said Yuton Watanabe, a Montrealer.

While another Montrealer said, “I feel like if their music was popular enough, I feel like it would just get shared naturally. I don’t think we should really enforce the music just because it’s local, but it should just really depend on the popularity.”

The same pattern was observed with regard to language: only five per cent had listened mainly to music in French over the past 12 months, 57 per cent mainly to music in English, 30 per cent to music in both English and French, and 8.7 per cent to music in another language.

“We see that young people who live outside a census metropolitan area are, proportionally, more likely to mainly consume cultural products from Quebec. For those living in a census metropolitan area, young people are more likely to mainly consume content from outside Quebec,” said Champagne.

The study reveals how cultural consumption varies by generation. Young people whose families have been established in Quebec for a longer time consume more Quebec cultural content. Thirty‑one per cent say they listen to as much Quebec music as music from elsewhere, compared with 20 per cent among second‑generation youth and 17 per cent among those of the first generation.

“It’s interesting to note the differences between generational status. This is the first time generational status has been broken down this way, separating second‑ and third‑generation youth, whereas in the past the focus was mainly on place of birth,” said Champagne.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews