JJ, representing Austria, winner of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, holds the trophy during the Grand Final, in Basel, Switzerland, on May 18.Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Tucked inside Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget, in between a $150-million pledge for CBC/Radio-Canada and funding to boost domestic tourism, was a word rarely seen in official government documents: Eurovision.
Beyond just “modernising CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to strengthen independence,” Carney’s government said it would work with the public broadcaster to “explore participation” in the famed Eurovision Song Contest. The annual competition pits musicians representing dozens of countries against each other in a televised battle, with legions of fans across the world voting for their favourites.
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Canada’s interest in joining the contest could be a signal of a much larger cultural pivot, however: a realignment toward Europe in the era of increasingly entrenched U.S. protectionism.
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CBC/Radio-Canada has, in the recent past, had serious talks with Eurovision’s organizing committee about joining, according to a person close to the committee. The person added that organizers remain open to Canada joining the contest – and that the country’s participation could even become part of a deeper link to European broadcasters and culture. The Globe and Mail is not disclosing the source because they were not authorized to describe the discussions.
Eurovision’s organizing body, the European Broadcasting Union, is a consortium of 113 broadcast organizations across 56 countries. Though the song contest is its highest-profile offering, full members can also share content such as news footage with one another.
CBC/Radio-Canada is an associate-level member, as is Australia – which joined Eurovision in 2015 with a special invitation from the EBU. A handful of non-European countries are already full-fledged members, including Israel, Egypt and Morocco.
The addition of CBC/Radio-Canada as a full member could both boost its content and provide other countries with more options for North American content as they, too, reorient themselves from the United States.
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CBC’s head of public affairs, Chuck Thompson, said the broadcaster had nothing to share about its relationship with Eurovision, but confirmed that its staff are “discussing and considering the opportunities for more collaboration and content exchanges” with the EBU.
In an interview with Global News after the federal budget was released, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Eurovision’s budget inclusion was the result of “the people who participate” asking. He added that Eurovision is “a platform for Canada to shine. This is about protecting, also, our identity.”
Asked to clarify, Champagne’s spokesperson John Fragos said Ottawa is “actively” exploring joining the song contest, as it “commands a global audience – and would give Canada a venue to share its proud cultural and musical talents with the world at a time when deepening relations with European partners is imperative.”
The 2025 Eurovision contest was viewed by 166 million people worldwide. Though it is too late for Canada to join the 2026 contest, a 2027 entry could be possible.
Canada has put its fingerprints on Eurovision before. Celine Dion’s winning 1988 performance of Ne partez pas sans moi, representing Switzerland, launched the singer onto the international stage. In 2001, New Brunswick’s Natasha St-Pier represented France, while in 2023, the Quebec-born, Paris-based singer La Zarra represented the country.
Each country’s Eurovision entry is decided by its participating broadcaster, which are allowed to do so by an “internal process” or through a televised national show or event of its own (such as Italy’s Sanremo Music Festival). The European Broadcasting Union did not respond to a comment request.
Eurovision was just one component of Ottawa’s culture plans in the 2025 federal budget. It also included numerous three-year boosts for cultural funding pools. It included $150-million for Telefilm, $127.5-million for the Canada Media Fund, $26.1-million for the National Film Board, $38.4-million for the Canada Periodical Fund and $6-million for the Canada Council for the Arts.
As well, the government earmarked a fresh $48-million for the Canada Music Fund, which will be directed to the music-industry funding bodies FACTOR and Musicaction. That annual $16-million boost to the music industry extends a two-year promise made in 2024 for an additional three years – and is unrelated to the $9.8-million in government funding that went missing from FACTOR’s bank account last year.