Q&A: National Film Board chair wants her organization’s productions to air on CBC

In the near future, Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast will be able to turn on their local CBC broadcast and watch a National Film Board (NFB) production — or, at least, that’s the hope for Suzanne Guèvremont, the NFB’s chairperson. Earlier this week, Guèvremont inked a four-year agreement with CBC/Radio-Canada to enhance the relationship between the two Crown corporations. More specifically, the two public entities are looking to team up on, among other things, production, data sharing, as well as archival and educational initiatives. In an exclusive interview, Guèvremont spoke about how this could lead to more NFB productions airing on the CBC, as well as why she feels there are opportunities for collaboration with Canada’s public broadcaster. What’s the gist of the National Film Board’s (NFB) new partnership with the CBC? We signed a memorandum of understanding between the two corporations that strengthens and deepens our relationship between CBC/Radio-Canada and the National Film Board of Canada. We are the public producer and distributor and, of course, CBC/Radio-Canada is the public broadcaster, so I think identifying areas of collaboration will be very positive for Canadians across the country. It’s really to deepen our longstanding relationship. Can I ask about the timing? Did anything happen to specifically prompt this agreement? Nothing specific, but I met with CBC president and CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard when she came aboard and we had the chance to talk about our respective goals and respective strategic plans that were coming out. We came to the conclusion that we wanted to deepen and formalize this relationship to make something very explicit between our two organizations. Even though we were already collaborating, it’s always really nice to be able to identify specific areas of collaboration, so our teams felt empowered to move forward with these conversations. Part of this partnership involves the idea that the NFB could provide content that would be aired on the CBC’s channels. Is that the goal? In a couple of years, will I be able to turn on the CBC and watch a NFB production? Among other things, yes. This would be something that we could be hoping for on television, but also on their streaming platforms, whether it’s Gem or Tou.tv. We already have channels there and there’s collaboration, but yes, it is the objective to explore opportunities for CBC/Radio-Canada to include NFB documentaries across its broadcast and streaming platforms. Why doesn’t the CBC already air more NFB productions? I understand it’s two different organizations, but both are public-serving entities that use taxpayer dollars. Why don’t we see more of the NFB on CBC/Radio-Canada broadcasts? It goes back a long way and you could ask CBC/Radio-Canada that question as well because I don’t have all their decision-making processes. But we are already present on Tou.tv and CBC Gem. Now, the programming for documentaries on CBC/Radio-Canada is really up to them to decide on where they want to put their programming efforts and the availability to broadcast documentaries on air. I would prefer if you would ask that question to them, but it’s a programming challenge. Is there any timeline associated with this MOU? When should Canadians expect to see changes? This partnership was signed yesterday and it’s a two-plus-two agreement, meaning it will last four years. We will meet at least once a year to follow up on the items we have identified in the agreement, whether it’s programming, documentaries, heritage preservation, archives, artificial intelligence, data sharing, regional and linguistic audiences, or education. These are all aspects that we want to follow on, so we wanted to meet at least once a year to make sure that we follow up on our own goals. Is there anything else about this agreement that you feel is important to note? It’s not super extensive and it’s not a 50-page document. We’re really happy about this partnership because it can’t be only good intentions. If we take the time to write something, it’s because we are determined and really want to make sure that our teams explore avenues of collaboration in a meaningful way. It’s really good news. It’s all positive and the Canadian public will benefit from it. dlegree@thewirereport.ca Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q&A: National Film Board chair wants her organization’s productions to air on CBC

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By Davis Legree
|April 10, 2026

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Q&A: National Film Board chair wants her organization’s productions to air on CBC

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By Davis Legree
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