Put simply, 78% of Canadians want the CBC/Radio-Canada to continue, especially if it addresses the major criticisms levelled against it. This is true across political lines, ages and regions.

Through funding cuts, technological developments and environmental conditions (such as the decline of local journalism), the CBC/Radio-Canada is no longer universally accessible to all Canadians. The CBC/Radio-Canada will better serve the country when it is appropriately funded and mandated through the lens of what the audience needs first — including the news-avoidant audience.

Canada has funded its public media service at a much lower level (around $33 per capita today) than most of its international counterparts (currently an average of $79 per capita) for decades. While the federal government committed to maintaining funding in 2025, funding allotments should not seem arbitrary. The CBC/Radio-Canada’s budget needs to be indexed to the scope of its mandate and its ability to perform its role as Canada’s national public media service. If the government expects to raise the per capita funding for the CBC/Radio-Canada, Canadians need to be assured of the value of the product they will be paying for. Regular and in-depth demographic reviews of the audience should be established to determine the kind of content Canadians require and the way they need to receive it. Models for this form of consultation include nation-wide town hall meetings, citizens’ assemblies, and comprehensive surveys of the public (not merely existing members of the CBC/Radio-Canada’s audience).

Canada’s approach to reviewing the mandate for the CBC/Radio-Canada, its national public media service, is undefined and inconsistent with best practices in place in many leading countries. (The last full mandate review of the CBC/Radio-Canada before 2025 was conducted in 1991.) The following legislative changes will help to keep the CBC/Radio-Canada up to date in better serving all Canadians:

• Schedule regular mandate reviews of the CBC/Radio-Canada at a predetermined schedule (i.e., every five or 10 years). These reviews should be held outside election cycles.

• Mandate review committees should be cross-partisan or nonpartisan and involve public consultations or in-depth demographic surveys: they need to be based on actual current data, not on vibes.

Originally designed to protect cultural tradition and/or educate the public, the role of public media services worldwide especially in regions affected by the climate crisis and/or geopolitical changes is shifting to include national emergency preparedness and crisis response, especially in a world of increasing misinformation/disinformation and news deserts. This aspect of the CBC’s mandate should be strengthened and formalized, with appropriate resources (for instance: well-maintained radio towers and local journalism coverage) allocated to preserving the CBC’s role as an emergency communications support and a cultural connector across the country — important considerations in ensuring Canada’s sovereignty. 

The CBC/Radio-Canada serves its function when Canadians use it, and is best situated to fulfill its mandate when it is able to reach everyone in the country. Young audiences have moved online, Canadians in small towns don’t get coverage (or reception) and demographic minorities don’t feel adequately represented. We highlight four areas of focus for the CBC/Radio-Canada to continue investing in to maximize its reach and impact to all Canadians: 

• Address the digital divide through funding, mandate and cultural prioritization.

• Invest in local journalism. Across the country, more than half of Canada are dissatisfied by their local news options (this number rises outside cities and towns).

• Create meaningful, not performative, representation. This goal addresses equity, diversity and inclusion, but  more broadly, political and regional diversity as well.

• Invest in media literacy programs: Enacted at the federal/public service level in the most trusted jurisdictions worldwide, this measure serves all media, not only public media.

The CBC and Radio-Canada remain the most trusted media outlets in their respective languages, yet trust in each is declining, as it is in media and in public media elsewhere. Trust is earned when the audience knows they can hold the Corporation to account and that their criticisms are heard. Three ways to build trust and transparency at the CBC/Radio-Canada are to:

• Create more public engagement outside of the regulated CRTC license renewal channels. Canadians should feel seen and heard by their public media service.

• Consider regional councils (for instance, provincial advisory boards) made up of representative citizen groups who can advise on community priorities, changing trends and offer feedback on the way the CBC/Radio-Canada serves the community. Canadians should have visibility to this work.

• Depoliticize the appointment of the CBC/Radio-Canada president and board. In keeping with best practices for modern board governance, the CBC’s board should have a skills matrix, regional/demographic representation and cross-partisan or nonpartisan makeup. It should be structurally evident that the CBC/Radio-Canada serves all Canadians, not the current political government.