Opposition MPs, media veterans call for ‘long overdue’ CBC mandate review

A source familiar with government deliberations expects Ottawa will move forward with a review later this year, while stakeholders wait impatiently for the mandate’s first update in nearly 35 years. As Google, Meta, and other American-owned big-tech firms pervade Canada’s media landscape, Ottawa is considering reviewing CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate in an effort to strengthen cultural independence and further protect the country’s democracy, political players say. And, according to opposition critics, former CBC officials, and cultural advocates, an update is desperately needed. A lot has changed since the federal government last amended the CBC’s mandate in 1991. Now, mainstream radio and television audiences are on the decline, many people turn to their cellphone for news and information, while a little thing called the ‘internet’ has completely upended the media landscape. Throughout these transformations, the government’s directive for Canada’s public broadcaster has gone practically unchanged. So, as Canadians embrace an increasingly digital existence, experts are asking for a review of the CBC’s mandate to help the organization address modern-day challenges and capitalize on new technologies. “It’s long overdue,” said Christopher Waddell, professor emeritus at Carleton University’s journalism school and former parliamentary bureau chief at CBC News. “Obviously, the media environment in 1991 is a little different than it is in 2026.” “With the media environment being so different, the government has to decide what it wants the public broadcaster to be, and what it wants the public broadcaster to do.” Currently, the CBC is legally obligated to provide broadcasting services “incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens, and entertains.” Among other things, this mandate also ensures content is “distinctively Canadian,” reflects the country’s regional audiences, and balances the two official languages. But, in effect, it’s the same directive that was given to the CBC nearly 35 years ago. In fact, little has changed from the mandate assigned to the corporation in the Broadcasting Act passed in 1968—before the internet was invented—which required the CBC to provide “balanced service of information, enlightenment, and entertainment for people of different ages, interests, and tastes.” In recent years, total viewership share has remained relatively strong for CBC Television (5.4 per cent) and CBC News Network (2.1 per cent), but audience trends suggest Canadians are increasingly turning to the broadcaster’s online and digital offerings. According to the CBC’s most recent annual report, the broadcaster had a monthly digital reach of 21.1 million people (the number of people who visited the organization’s website), representing a significant increase over the last two decades. Now, stakeholders are concerned that the existing directive, while well-intentioned, fails to acknowledge difficult realities associated with the digitization of news and entertainment media, like artificial intelligence (AI), disinformation, and changing audience trends. “The current mandate, when you break it down, is not bad,” said Jennifer McGuire, who spent more than a decade as editor-in-chief of CBC News. “But I think we need to understand the digital context connected to the existing mandate and where audiences are.” “There’s misinformation, AI, and some of the organized things happening in those digital spaces, so I think that’s the complexity we’re looking for… and that should frame the conversation.” In 2024, McGuire, now the managing director of Pink Triangle Press, was among the seven experts appointed to advise the government on efforts to “renew CBC/Radio-Canada,” which included a proposed mandate review for the broadcaster. The advisory group’s work helped shape a government report introduced last year by then-heritage minister Pascale St-Onge, which suggested a reformed funding model and various other changes, including eliminating paid advertising from all news programming. If implemented, the CBC would transition away from a parliamentary appropriation model, which requires funding to be approved in Parliament, towards a statutory model that would effectively codify a stable funding future for the broadcaster. Over the last fiscal year, the broadcaster received $1.41-billion in government funding, marking a slight decrease from the previous 12 months. The CBC also generated $588.7-million in revenue in 2024-25, against $1.97-billion in total expenses. In the report, St-Onge also called for a “more explicit mandate to innovate and adopt new means and methods of communication.” “… it can make its content accessible to the widest possible audience on the platforms and systems it uses,” read the report. Another member of the task force, former TV5 Québec Canada executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard, has since been named the CBC’s president and CEO, but the plan has yet to be implemented. Weeks after St-Onge introduced her vision, Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) called a federal election and, while the Liberals won a minority government, St-Onge did not run again, leaving the group’s recommendations—and the future of the CBC’s mandate—unclear. “It wasn’t the best rollout, but you can understand why it happened,” said McGuire. The Liberals listed strengthening the CBC’s mandate as an election promise, specifically vowing to bring forward legislation that would introduce the statutory funding model, develop a new governance plan, and add “consistent transmission of life-saving information during emergencies” to the broadcaster’s mandate. Following the election, Carney appointed longtime environment minister Steven Guilbeault (Laurier–Sainte-Marie, Que.) to a new cabinet posting devoted to Canadian identity and culture, which includes responsibility for the public broadcaster. In the 2025 federal budget, the Liberals committed to “explore modernizing CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to strengthen independence,” and announced $150-million in additional funding for the broadcaster. However, Guilbeault resigned last year following the federal government’s memorandum of understanding with Alberta regarding a new oil pipeline, resulting in Marc Miller (Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Sœurs, Que.), another Trudeau-era minister, being appointed to the portfolio. Since his swearing-in, Miller has not publicly commented on the prospect of a mandate review, though Hermine Landry, a spokesperson for the minister, told The Hill Times that the government has “promised Canadians a strong public broadcaster.” “That’s what they expect from us,” said Landry in a statement. “And we will deliver on that promise.” Miller’s office did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the status and logistics of a future mandate review process. Mandate review expected later this year: source Despite Ottawa signalling the possibility of a mandate review, the government has left advocacy groups and other stakeholders impatiently waiting for an update. “It’s a difficult thing to do… and it requires a lot of compromises to be made,” said Ira Basen, a longtime radio producer of CBC programs like Quirks & Quarks. “ it just doesn’t make sense that it hasn’t happened.” “The CBC is supposed to help knit the country together… and you could argue that’s more important now than at any other point in time since 1936, when it was established,” he continued, citing percolating separatist movements in Alberta and Quebec. Basen said he still anticipates an updated mandate to be brought forward alongside other measures featured in the government’s vision for the public broadcaster announced last year, and suggested Bouchard would not have taken on the corporation’s presidency without assurances that the policy would move forward. A source told The Hill Times that a government representative indicated to them that the Liberals will move forward with a mandate review later this year, but it’s unclear what exactly the process will look like. The source asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to speak publicly about the interaction. Raj Shoan, interim executive director of the advocacy group Friends of Canadian Media, said his group “fully supports” the mandate review, and has submitted five recommendations for the government’s consideration. Notably, Friends is calling for the CBC’s directive to include an emphasis on local and regional news coverage, an independent appointment process for the board of directors, as well as a “renewable” charter that includes performance commitments, public accountability mechanisms, and a secure funding model. “We support the mandate review and we want to ensure the CBC has the tools, funding, and independence required to meet all of its public interest obligations in a rapidly changing digital environment,” Shoan said in an interview. “Looking at the system and factoring in the digital reality, this is something that needs to happen across the industry.” “My sense at this stage is is trying to figure out the progress with respect to what a mandate review would look like. Is this something that will be Ottawa focused? Or, is it something that will have a coast-to-coast-to-coast focus?” CBC is ‘glue that holds our country together,’ says MP Johns For opposition parties, an updated CBC mandate could help the Canadian public tackle modern challenges associated with artificial intelligence, misinformation, and social media algorithms, which NDP MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni, B.C.) said is particularly relevant considering the state of Canada’s relationship with the White House. “The CBC is one of the few institutions that truly help hold our government together… at a time when our sovereignty is being challenged,” Johns, the NDP’s heritage critic, told The Hill Times. “We’re being flooded with American media and algorithms that don’t have our values at heart.” “Weakening the CBC would only leave Canadians more vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.” Johns added that the role of the CBC has taken on heightened importance in rural and remote communities, where it is often the only source of local news, especially as many private media outlets continue to face financial difficulties. “When wildfires hit this summer or ferries are cancelled on Vancouver Island, people often have no choice but to turn to the CBC,” he said. “It’s really the glue that holds our country together.” “So, need to solidify it because the CBC isn’t a cost, but rather an investment in democracy, public safety, and unity.” Meanwhile, Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux (Drummond, Que.) said the sovereigntist party has been calling for a review of the CBC’s mandate “for a long time.” In an email to The Hill Times, Champoux said his party felt the $150-million allocated to the CBC in the most recent federal budget was a temporary solution, and that a comprehensive review of the broadcaster’s core directives was urgently needed. “This money is nothing more than a costly election promise that could have been used to help private news media, both radio and television broadcasters,” said Champoux, the party’s arts and culture critic, in French. “What is expected is an updated mandate that includes a review of the funding model, not money thrown into CBC/Radio-Canada’s lap without a specific objective, such as supporting regional journalism.” The Conservative Party, which has historically advocated for defunding the CBC, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. For Carleton University’s Waddell, governments have been reluctant to treat the CBC as a high priority because it has never been a make-or-break issue at the ballot box. “There hasn’t been a single politician who has been a standout advocate for public broadcasting over the last 30 years,” he said. “But nobody has failed to win an election by not advocating for the public broadcaster.” dlegree@hilltimes.com This story has been cross-published with The Hill Times.

Opposition MPs, media veterans call for ‘long overdue’ CBC mandate review

Broadcast |
By Davis Legree
|January 14, 2026

A source familiar with government deliberations expects Ottawa will move forward with a review later this year, while stakeholders wait impatiently for the mandate’s first update in nearly 35 years.

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Opposition MPs, media veterans call for ‘long overdue’ CBC mandate review

Broadcast | By Davis Legree |January 14, 2026

A source familiar with government deliberations expects Ottawa will move forward with a review later this year, while stakeholders wait impatiently for the mandate’s first update in nearly 35 years.

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