OPINION: CBC/Radio-Canada needs a modern mandate and a stable future

During the 2025 federal election, Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) promised Canadians a stronger CBC/Radio-Canada, a modernized mandate, and stable funding protected by legislation. Eighteen months later, Canadians are still waiting for the government to explain when and how it intends to deliver. While the government delivered an initial $150 million for 2025–26, it has not yet followed through on its promise of long-term funding for CBC/Radio-Canada. In February 2025, the federal government proposed more predictable and stable funding and suggested putting a new funding model into law. The government specifically acknowledged that the lack of multi-year funding makes it harder for the broadcaster to plan for the medium- and long-term. That needs to change. A public broadcaster cannot be expected to hold governments accountable while remaining perpetually uncertain about whether those same governments will provide the resources it needs to fulfil its mandate. This isn't about giving CBC/Radio-Canada a blank cheque. It is about giving Canada's public broadcaster the certainty it needs to invest in local journalism, technology, digital services, regional programming and the people who produce Canadian stories. Similarly, a review of CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate, which dates to the 1991 Broadcasting Act, is long overdue. The Canada of the early 90s is not the Canada of today. There was no Facebook, no YouTube, no Netflix, no TikTok, and no smartphones then. Most Canadians got their news from newspapers, radio and television. By comparison, today's media landscape is almost unrecognizable. Canadians carry more media in their pockets than was available to entire communities three decades ago. Young Canadians increasingly get their news online. Global streaming services compete for our attention. Social media platforms have transformed how information spreads. The world has changed. Our public broadcaster needs a mandate that reflects that world. This isn't an argument against CBC/Radio-Canada. It is an argument for giving it a clear path forward. What should the role of a Canadian public broadcaster be in the digital age? How should it reach younger Canadians? What responsibility should it have to provide local journalism when commercial newsrooms disappear? How should it support Canadian culture when Canadians have access to an almost unlimited amount of foreign content? And how should its English and French services evolve as the needs of Canadians change? These are important questions. And Canadians should have the opportunity to help answer them. CBC/Radio-Canada is one of the few Canadian institutions that serves the entire country, in both official languages and in communities large and small. It provides vital news and information. It tells timeless Canadian stories. It provides programming that commercial media may not be able to sustain. And it serves as a critical lifeline to Canadians during emergencies. That role matters - especially now. In the last election, the government asked Canadians to believe that CBC/Radio-Canada was essential to our cultural sovereignty and democratic future. It promised a modernized mandate, stronger local journalism and long-term funding protected by legislation. Canadians have seen the initial funding commitment. What they have not seen is a credible timetable for delivering the larger promise. As CBC/Radio-Canada celebrates its 90th anniversary, the government should commit to a transparent public process for modernizing its mandate, publish a legislative roadmap and explain how it will deliver stable, statutory funding. CBC/Radio-Canada's future should not depend on the political priorities of whichever government happens to hold office. That is precisely why the government promised to protect its funding in law. The government has made the promise. Now it needs to deliver. Raj Shoan is the executive director of Friends of Canadian Media. The positions and opinions expressed by The Wire Report columnists and contributors are solely reflective of the author’s perspective and do not necessarily reflect The Wire Report’s views or values.

OPINION: CBC/Radio-Canada needs a modern mandate and a stable future

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By Raj Shoan
|November 3, 2026

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OPINION: CBC/Radio-Canada needs a modern mandate and a stable future

Broadcast | By Raj Shoan |November 3, 2026

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By Raj Shoan
|November 3, 2026