Long before the federal election race began, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre campaigned on defunding Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC (while sparing Radio-Canada). 

The Liberals and the NDP have promised to do the opposite.

On the campaign trail Friday, Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised to increase funding for CBC/Radio-Canada by $150 million a year. Carney also promised to modernize the CBC’s mandate.

“Our plan will safeguard a reliable Canadian public square in a sea of misinformation and disinformation, so we can stay informed and tell our own stories in our own languages,” Carney said.

Asked by the media what his position on the CBC is, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also promised to “invest significantly” in the CBC.“CBC, as a public broadcaster, has been a fundamental part of celebrating Canadian culture, celebrating Quebec culture,” Singh said.

At his press conference, Carney cited facts reflected in a CCPA report by Geoff Bickerton, Bang for our Buck: Comparing public service broadcasting funding in 19 countries, including Canada.

“When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded. That has to change,” said Carney.

Bang for our Buck found:

    • The average per capita public funding of public service broadcasters in the other 18 countries was $78.76 in 2022. Public funding in Canada for CBC/Radio-Canada was $32.43—just 41 per cent of the international average.
    • Of the 19 countries in the survey, only the U.S., New Zealand, and Portugal had lower per capita public spending than Canada. 

    Similar to Singh, Carney heralded the CBC/Radio-Canada as “a pillar of our Canadian identity.” 

    In a report that I recently wrote, Canadian Icons, I shared findings from focus group research the CCPA did with Environics Research to better understand how Canadians are feeling about the CBC/Radio-Canada—especially in light of the Conservative leader’s pledge to defund the CBC.

    Environics conducted the focus groups between February 13-20, 2025. This research coincided with something we could not have predicted: U.S. President Donald Trump had just announced he would wage a tariff war against Canada and started “joking” about annexing Canada as the 51st state of America.

    As we listened to focus group participants from across the country share their thoughts about the CBC/Radio-Canada, a resounding theme emerged: across the board, regardless of region, the public broadcaster was seen as integral to the Canadian identity—especially in light of Trump’s threats.

    “For most participants, the CBC/Radio-Canada was seen as a national icon,” I wrote. “At a time when we as a country feel vulnerable and threatened by the U.S., participants valued the CBC-Radio Canada as a reflection of who we are and believe that it’s an institution worth keeping.”

    Here are a few snippets from the focus group participants:

      • “We had a railway 150 years ago to tie Canada together,” said one focus group participant. “CBC is one of those things that ties Canada together.”
      • “If you wanted to make Canada the 51st state, the first thing you’d have to do is destroy our cultural identity,” said another, citing the CBC as being instrumental to our identity.
      • “It’s a part of our heritage,” said another. “It’s been there forever and it brought so many important events in our lives.”
      • If the CBC gets defunded, “might as well burn my books,” said another.

      Even before Trump waded into Canadian sovereignty like a bull in a china shop, most Canadians were supportive of continued funding for the CBC.In October 2024, the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy released the findings from a national survey that showed 78 per cent of Canadians who responded “would like to CBC/Radio-Canada continue if it addresses its major criticisms.”

      The survey did not define what “major criticisms” actually referred to. It’s possible you have your own. The Canadians we listened to made clear that they believe the role of a public broadcaster is to tell Canadian stories. 

      Even if you take Trump out of the equation, the case for a new mandate for the CBC to help fill the local news void and combat misinformation is strong. News Deprivation, a new CCPA report by David Macdonald and Sonja Macdonald, shows in stark terms the deteriorating conditions for local news in Canada:

        • 2.5 million Canadians now have almost no local news.
        • Since 2008, we’ve seen a net loss of 11 per cent of print media outlets (whether newspapers or online).
        • Private broadcasting local news outlets, whether TV or radio, have fared little better, with the net closure of nine per cent of local broadcast news outlets since 2008.

        Over decades, Canada has experienced the whittling away of news sources as the rise of misinformation and disinformation threatens our democratic stability.

        In the early 1990s, when I was a journalist, newsrooms started to shrink as corporate media sought to cut costs. Then the size of newspapers started shrinking. Eventually, far too many of them disappeared. Broadcasting media has gone through a similar shedding process.

        Today, newsrooms are victims of corporate mergers and media consolidation, leaving us with less, not more, journalism. Private-sector media CEOs and their shareholders are free to enrich themselves with no concern about how journalism is a key pillar of democracy.

        Until recently, the Washington Post’s mission statement was: Democracy dies in darkness. Now, under U.S. billionaire Jeff Bezos’ ownership, that motto no longer resides on the Post’s masthead.

        That was something else I heard during our focus group research: participants worried that if there was no more CBC/Radio-Canada, our news would come from billionaire-owned private media with their own agenda—not an agenda to reflect Canadians’ culture and reality back to themselves.

        The Conservative leader has made CBC funding—and the very existence of public broadcasting—an election issue. The Liberals and NDP have offered their counterpoint. What’s clear is that the existence and sustainability of public broadcasting in Canada is an issue that cuts to the core of current debates about identity, sovereignty, and an informed populace.