Manitoba premier says social media ban coming for kids, like Australia

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew speaks with reporters before the First Ministers Meeting in Ottawa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government will move to ban children from using social media accounts and artificial intelligence chatbots, Premier Wab Kinew told fellow New Democrats on Saturday night.

Kinew told some 900 people at a party fundraiser that the province plans to protect kids from technology platforms that he says hurt their development.

“These tools have been designed by ... people who understand our psychology, who understand our biology. And they have designed these tools and optimized them to hack our children’s reward system in their brain,” Kinew said.

“These are forces that contribute to anxiety and depression. These are forces that lead to young women being trafficked.”

Kinew did not reveal details of his plan, such as the age limit he is considering or how a provincial government might have jurisdiction over international platforms. He did not speak to reporters after his speech.

Australia became the first country last December to create a law enforcing age limits on social media accounts, and introduced fines for companies found non-compliant.

Federal Liberal party members recently passed a non-binding resolution with the same idea, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the idea merits consideration.

Culture Minister Marc Miller said earlier this month the government is “very seriously” considering a social media ban for kids, and would leave it to an expert panel, currently examining online harms, to weigh in on whether the bill should also cover AI chatbots.

Questions have been asked about how the person behind the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in February used OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The 18-year-old shooter was banned from using ChatGPT due to worrisome interactions, but OpenAI did not alert law enforcement and the shooter got around the ChatGPT ban by having a second account.

There was no word Saturday on how quickly the Manitoba government might move. The legislature is scheduled to sit for four more weeks, break for the summer and not reconvene until the end of September.

“We owe the next generation of Manitobans a simple promise — freedom. Freedom from the surveillance capitalism that is destroying the free world. Freedom from screen time. Freedom to be a kid,” Kinew said.

Kinew said Manitoba will be the first province to make the move, but the idea has been raised in others.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe recently said his government plans to ask people their views on banning social media for children under 16. He added it would be more effective for Ottawa to impose changes nationally, rather than for Saskatchewan to go it alone. 

In Quebec, an all-party legislature committee last year recommended that social media accounts be barred for youth under the age of 14 unless they have the consent of a parent or guardian.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2026