On Friday, Mark Carney said that future CBC funding should be enshrined in law – a move that would require an amendment to the broadcasting act and need Parliament’s approval.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Mark Carney pledged Friday to boost CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding by an initial $150-million and proposed further increases to bring its $1.4-billion annual budget in line with those of Britain’s BBC and other countries’ public broadcasters.
Speaking to reporters in Montreal, he said protecting CBC/Radio-Canada was crucial to preserving Canadian culture and sovereignty, which he described as under threat from U.S. President Donald Trump. He accused the Conservatives of wanting to undermine a trusted national institution that is a platform for homegrown programs and helps combat disinformation.
“Canada’s identity and institutions are under attack by foreign interference, and instead of defending them, Pierre Poilievre is following President Trump’s lead and taking aim at our institutions like CBC/Radio-Canada.”
At a press conference on Friday in Trois-Rivières, Que., Mr. Poilievre accused the Liberal Leader of failing to explain where the additional public money would come from. “My approach won’t have an impact on Radio-Canada,” he said, while not repeating his previous pledge to defund the CBC.
Last year, CBC received about $1.38-billion from the government. It has also received top-ups over the past four years to cover its costs. For example, the 2024 budget gave the public broadcaster an extra $42-million for 2024-2025.
Mr. Poilievre has consistently criticized the Liberals for propping up the public broadcaster with taxpayers’ dollars when viewership of CBC Television is dropping.
On Friday, Mr. Carney argued that CBC and Radio-Canada’s services are closely intertwined.
He said that future CBC funding should be enshrined in law – a move that would require an amendment to the broadcasting act and need Parliament’s approval. He added that he would direct the public broadcaster to develop a “strategic plan” with measures to strengthen local news (including in remote regions), support Canadian (including French) culture and modernize how the CBC is governed. Mr. Carney also wants the broadcaster to ensure it is equipped to transmit information to Canadians during emergencies, such as forest fires.
With regard to increasing the CBC’s budget long-term, he said: “When we compare ourselves to the U.K., France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster is underfunded. That has to change.”
His proposals draw on a white paper presented by former heritage minister Pascale St-Onge in February that recommended CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding almost double over a few years to $62 per capita from about $34, to bring it in line with support received by other public broadcasters in the G7.
Her proposals – including a big boost in public funding – were not approved by Cabinet before the election was called.
Mr. Carney did not follow Ms. St-Onge’s suggestion that, in return for more funds, CBC/Radio-Canada should stop running advertisements during news and current affairs programs.
Marla Boltman, executive director of the Friends of Canadian Media advocacy group, said she thought the future funding of CBC/Radio-Canada “is now a key ballot issue” in the election.
Monica Auer, executive director of the non-partisan Forum for Research and Policy in Communications, said more funding would “enable the CBC to focus more on the creation of high-quality programming, in particular local news.”
She pointed out that CBC/Radio-Canada receives far less government funding than British and German public broadcasters, despite operating in more time zones and broadcasting in French, English and Indigenous languages.