Canada Tables Bill to Ban Social Media for Under-16s

Culture Minister Marc Miller introduced Bill C-34 in the House of Commons on June 10, moving to bar children under 16 from holding social media accounts unless platforms can demonstrate they have put adequate safety measures in place. The legislation also sets new obligations for AI chatbots that mimic human relationships. Platforms that meet the safety threshold can apply for an exemption, but the verification process and enforcement mechanism remain unresolved. Officials estimate it could take 18 months to stand up the new digital safety regulator after the bill passes, though the under-16 restriction could come into force earlier, once regulations are issued.

Any restriction of this scale directly affects youth audience segments on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. If passed, platforms will need to build age-verification systems, which could shrink accessible audiences, reshape ad targeting options, and trigger platform-level policy changes across all advertisers. Marketers running youth-facing campaigns should monitor this closely and start scenario planning now.

Google Is Folding Display Into Demand Gen. The Migration Window Is Now.

Starting this month, Google opened the migration path for existing Display campaigns to move into Demand Gen using a built-in tool inside Google Ads. This is not optional. Google is retiring standalone Display campaigns, and all Google Display Network inventory will eventually consolidate into Demand Gen, which already combines YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Google Maps into a single campaign environment. On June 15, Google also split GA4 and Consent Mode data collection authority, requiring separate configuration for advertisers who have both tools integrated. Google reports that advertisers who bring Display inventory into Demand Gen see an average 9.5% ROI lift.

Advertisers still running standalone Display campaigns need to act before delivery is affected. The migration is not just a technical move. Demand Gen requires rethinking creative formats, audience signals, and performance measurement. Teams managing multiple campaign types should audit their setup, review consent configurations, and start testing Demand Gen now rather than scrambling when legacy Display is switched off.

Google Marketing Live 2026: Universal Cart, AI Max, and the Ask Advisor Agent

Google Marketing Live 2026 delivered its most integrated set of announcements in years, with a clear through-line: AI is no longer a layer on top of advertising, it is the operating system. The headline launch is Universal Cart, a persistent shopping cart that follows users across Google Search, the Gemini app, YouTube, and Gmail, with built-in price-drop alerts and Buy Now, Pay Later options through Klarna and Affirm. Google also launched Ask Advisor, a unified AI agent built with Gemini that spans Google Ads, Google Analytics 4, Merchant Center, and Google Marketing Platform, designed to surface proactive recommendations and save time on account management. AI Max, Google's AI-powered Search ads product, turned one and expanded into Shopping and Travel campaigns. Advertisers using AI Max or Performance Max are reporting 15% more conversions at a similar return on ad spend.

Google is moving toward agentic commerce, where AI completes shopping tasks on behalf of users. For Canadian retailers, this means product data quality, structured feeds, and first-party signals now determine whether a brand surfaces in AI-driven results. If your Merchant Center feed is messy or your conversion tracking is incomplete, these new tools will work against you, not for you.

Q1 2026 Retail Marketing Report: AI and DOOH Reprice Attention in Canada

A new quarterly report from Retail Insider published last week documents how AI-powered discovery, digital out-of-home advertising, and connected TV have fundamentally shifted how Canadian retail marketers reach and measure audiences. The report identifies AI-driven discovery as the single biggest structural change in retail marketing right now, with implications for search, retail media, and how brands measure upper-funnel activity. Loyalty partnerships are also expanding, with programs like Canadian Tire and WestJet deepening their ecosystems. The report notes that promotional automation is protecting margins for retailers under cost pressure, while platform concentration remains a long-term risk as retailers become more dependent on ecosystems they do not control.

This report offers a domestic baseline for where Canadian retail marketing actually stands in mid-2026. The shift toward AI-driven discovery affects how brands allocate budget across channels, not just search. If you are planning for the back half of the year, the data on DOOH growth, retail media performance, and loyalty ecosystem expansion is directly relevant to budget and channel mix decisions.