As part of a long-awaited update to Canada’s cultural policy, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly recently announced that the streaming giant Netflix would be investing $500 million into original Canadian television and film.

The deal stipulates that the $500 million be invested over the course of the next five years. It also marks the first permanent Netflix production presence outside of the United States. According to Minster Joly’s Creative Canada media strategy, the federal government will also be spending $125 million over the next five years to support the distribution of Canadian art, writing, and film abroad. Both plans aim to reboot the approaches which have traditionally been taken towards encouraging the production of creative Canadian content.

Traditional broadcasters have long pushed the federal government to update its approach towards online video content. Companies such as Netflix are often seen as having an unfair advantage because, unlike traditional broadcasters, they are not subject to federal taxes, regulations, or content expenditure requirements. Though other countries have imposed a special “Netflix tax,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected the idea of Canada opting for the same strategy. The Netflix deal may be the first and most important step towards quelling the complaints of an uneven playing field in the Canadian entertainment industry.

Advocates also hope that the deal will help Canadian content thrive by giving content producers a competitive boost in a rapidly changing economy. Enhanced access to newer technology and online marketplaces will help make Canadian content more widely available to consumers both at home and abroad. According to CBC president Hubert Lacroix, the Canadian marketplace is simply too small for Canadian cultural content to survive in digital spaces without help from the major digital players.

YouTube, like Netflix, has made a commitment to Canadian producers by launching a dedicated Canadian content channel. The federal government is hopeful that companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook will make investments into Canada as well. The Netflix deal might perhaps create a model for future deals between the Canadian government and online video streaming services.

When it was first announced, however, the Netflix deal came under fire from Quebec politicians and officials for having no dedicated funding for French-language content. Minister Joly was quick to assure concerned parties that the deal would not overlook Quebec-produced content. Netflix also responded that $25 million had been earmarked for what the company calls ‘market development activities,” which will include French-language community outreach.

Despite some concerns, the Netflix deal has also been praised as a forward-thinking move. It shows that the federal government recognizes that Canadians, just like the rest of the world, are turning towards online streaming services for their movies and TV shows. It also shows Canada’s willingness to adapt and move past arcane technology.

According to Heritage Minister Joly, the Netflix deal is the biggest investment that a foreign entity has made in the last three decades into Canadian content. Canadians are surely eager to see what this $500 million will bring to their screens over the next five years.