CBC’s early days
“From its inception the CBC was intended to convey Canadian culture and to be an instrument of national unity. These objectives have been difficult to achieve given the popularity and proliferation of competing programs from the United States.”
1923
The Canadian National Railways developed a radio network with stations in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Moncton, and Vancouver. It was the original public broadcaster in Canada, but by the end of 1929, it only had three hours of programming a week.
Source: Listening In: The First Decade of Canadian Broadcasting, 1922-1932, Mary Vipond
1928
Prime Minister Mackenzie King appointed the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting—in part to address the flood of American news and broadcast ownership in Canada. It was chaired by Sir John Aird, and is often referred to as the Aird Commission.
1929
The Aird Commission released recommended the federal government create “a national broadcasting company with the status and duties of a public utility to develop a service capable of ‘fostering a national spirit and interpreting national citizenship.’” It also wanted to get rid of all private stations.
1932
The new Conservative government, led by R.B. Bennett, passed the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act, establishing a publicly owned Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) with a mandate to provide programs and extend coverage across Canada. It took over the Canadian National Railways’ radio stations. Private radio stations were allowed to continue, and expand.
1936
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio-Canada) was created as a crown corporation on November 2, 1936 under a new Canadian Broadcasting Act. “The corporation assumed the assets, liabilities and main functions of the CRBC. These included regulating the private stations and providing homegrown programming for all Canadians.”
1937
Only half of Canada’s population had access to CBC/Radio-Canada—most of them in cities, where there was competition from American stations. “To fix this, 50-kW transmitters were built in Montreal and Toronto, increasing service to about 76 per cent of the population.
1939
The broadcaster added 50-kW transmitters in Saskatchewan and the Maritime provinces. They also began building low-power relay transmitters in B.C., northern Ontario, and New Brunswick. After the war, 50-kW stations were built in Manitoba and Alberta.
WWII
The CBC/Radio-Canada created an overseas service at the start of the Second World War. In 1941, the broadcaster ended its reliance on Canadian Press news bulletins and created its own news service.
Sourcehttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-broadcasting-corporation
1952
CBC’s first TV stations debuted in Montreal and Toronto, broadcasting to 26 per cent of the population. By 1954, TV ownership was thriving and the CBC broadcast to 60 per cent of the population. At the time, Canada “ranked second in the world in the production of live TV programming.” Stations were set up in Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax. To fund its development, the federal government placed an excise tax on TV sets.
1957
English and French CBC TV networks broadcast up to 10 hours a day, reaching 85 per cent of the population.
68 per cent
Between 1967 and 1974, CBC TV grew its Canadian content from about 52 per cent to around 68 per cent, creating flagship programs such as Marketplace, The Beachcombers and The Fifth Estate. This was a response to criticism of American content on the public broadcast network.
1972
The CBC became the first broadcaster in the world to use a domestic satellite in geostationary orbit to broadcast a television signal. It was focused on northern communities from Whitehorse, Yukon to Goose Bay, Newfoundland.
Quote:
“CBC’s flagship Saturday night program, Hockey Night in Canada, began broadcasting on TV in 1952. It’s Canada’s longest running TV program. ‘It became so entwined with the country’s cultural fabric that the theme song became an unofficial national anthem.’”
