The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was established in 1936 as Canada’s national public broadcaster following the passage of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act in 1932 by the Conservative government of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett. Initially created to counteract the influence of American radio and provide Canadians with their own national broadcasting service, the CBC has grown to include television, radio, and online platforms, delivering content in both English and French.
Today, the CBC employs over 7,500 people and operates across Canada. However, its main control centre remains in Toronto, with Radio Canada mostly operating out of Montreal. CBC receives substantial funding from Canadian taxpayers, with annual government support reaching $1.4 billion dollars. In addition to taxpayer funding, the CBC is allowed to generate additional revenue through advertising, earning $250 million annually from commercials and related content marketing and ads on its TV and digital platforms. Despite this, the corporation’s reliance on public funding, coupled with criticisms of biassed reporting, have fuelled debates about its role, relevance, and future in the Canadian media landscape.
The CBC has faced increasing criticism in recent years for biassed reporting, particularly accusations of leaning towards left-wing perspectives and failing to provide balanced coverage. One of the most notable examples is its handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict, where a directive from CBC’s Editor in Chief on October 7, 2023, that CBC reports should not label Hamas as a terrorist organisation raised serious concerns about its impartiality.
Similarly, during Canadian elections since 2015, critics have pointed out that CBC coverage tends to favour the Liberal Party, portraying Conservative policies and leaders in a negative light. The CBC faced accusations of biassed reporting during the 2019 federal election campaign. Critics noted that its coverage disproportionately focused on scandals surrounding then-Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, while being less critical of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. In the middle of that race, Rosemary Barton, chief political correspondent for the CBC, and the CBC itself filed a highly controversial lawsuit against the Conservative Party of Canada. The lawsuit alleged that the party had violated copyright by using CBC footage, including clips featuring Barton, in its campaign ads without permission.
Incredibly, neither Rosemary Barton nor the leadership at CBC seemed to anticipate that suing Canada’s Official Opposition party during a heated election campaign would seriously damage the network’s reputation for impartiality and trustworthiness.
The lawsuit sparked widespread criticism from legal analysts and commentators, who argued that it was inappropriate for a taxpayer-funded institution to take legal action against a political party during an election. This only reinforced existing concerns that CBC was biassed against the Conservatives.
Despite losing the case and facing public backlash, no one in CBC’s leadership or legal team faced any grave consequences for their actions. The network’s inability to grasp the severity of the situation, or implement changes afterward, indicates that little was learned from the embarrassing debacle.
The Conservative Party argued that the footage was used fairly under the “fair dealing” provision, which allows copyrighted material to be used for purposes such as criticism and commentary. The court agreed and ruled against CBC and Barton, dismissing the case. The judge found that the Conservative Party’s use of the footage fell under fair dealing and ordered CBC to pay the Conservative Party’s legal costs.
The lawsuit costs were paid for with taxpayer funds allocated to the CBC annually. Despite this legal defeat that included costs, neither CBC nor Barton issued a public apology to Canada’s Official Opposition party or leader or showed any level of regret or remorse for their actions and no one was fired or held to account for the debacle. This further reinforced the poor leadership and lack of accountability at CBC, and the cavalier way it manages the public money that funds its very existence.
Proof that “Mothercorp” was tone deaf and learned nothing from the lawsuit came to light a short time later in 2023, as CBC was forced to issue an apology to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith after falsely reporting before a key election in the province that she had pressured prosecutors to drop cases related to COVID-19 public health violations. The CBC initially claimed to have sources verifying the allegation, but an internal investigation found no evidence to support it.
Only after facing legal threats from Smith and widespread criticism did CBC issue a public apology, acknowledging that its reporting was inaccurate. This case further damaged CBC’s credibility, especially among those already critical of the network’s perceived bias. These incidents and others have deepened scepticism about CBC’s objectivity and raised significant questions about the broadcaster’s commitment to accurate, balanced reporting.
As a result, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been particularly vocal about his desire to defund the CBC, citing its biassed reporting as a primary reason. He argues that the CBC no longer serves the public interest and has become a mouthpiece for the Liberal government. In 2022, Poilievre said, “The CBC is a propaganda arm of the Liberal Party. They spend their time attacking Conservatives and promoting Liberal narratives, all while funded by taxpayers.” He has pledged to defund the CBC if elected, stating that the broadcaster should not rely on taxpayer dollars to push an ideological agenda: “Taxpayers should not be forced to fund a state broadcaster that works against them.” Poilievre’s position reflects the growing frustration among Conservatives and others who feel that the CBC has lost its commitment to unbiased and factual reporting.
Pierre Poilievre has a point when it comes to the CBC’s operational practices. The adage that a fish rots from the head down fits like a glove in describing the CBC Management Team and Board. Over the past decade, the network’s management and board have faced increasing scrutiny, with the decline under President Catherine Tait being particularly notable.
Tait, appointed in 2018, has overseen a shocking drop in the CBC’s reputation and audience. When she took over, CBC held a 7.6 percent share of the national prime-time viewing audience; today, that number has plummeted to just 2.1 percent, meaning 97.9 percent of TV-watching Canadians are not tuning into CBC’s English-language prime-time news. This represents a 72 percent decline in viewership over six years. Despite this, CBC claims success, arguing its current audience share is above its target of 1.7 percent, crediting larger audiences to major news events.
Even with billions in extra revenue since 2015, CBC’s audience has continued to dwindle. The network currently holds a 4.4 percent audience share for prime-time TV, meaning 95.6 percent of Canadians are opting out of CBC content. Its local TV newscasts have fared even worse, with just 319,000 viewers across twenty-seven programs, representing less than 1 percent of Canadians.
When questioned by the Parliamentary Heritage Committee about this dramatic decline, Tait responded evasively, suggesting that people were tuning in via CBC’s Gem app instead but refused to disclose how many subscribers the app has.
This combination of plummeting ratings and ad revenues reflects the CBC’s failure to produce content Canadians want. Tait’s abrasive, evasive attitude during her committee appearances only exacerbates the problem, reinforcing the perception that she is out of touch and closely tied to the Liberal government. Her dismissive behaviour towards opposition MPs seeking accountability should have warranted her termination long ago. However, like Tait, the CBC Board appears disconnected from the network’s struggles and has failed to address its declining relevance.
To say that the CBC is bloated, gluttonous and top-heavy is an understatement. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, an Access to Information search revealed that the public broadcaster has 143 executive directors. This includes eight directors of finance, nine directors of legal services, and twenty-six directors overseeing technology and infrastructure. The records also show forty-six directors are dedicated to English-language services, while forty are responsible for French-language services. Additionally, nine directors manage “people and culture,” and four are focused on “corporate development.”
The number of CBC staff with six-figure salaries has skyrocketed by 231 percent. Last year alone, these salaries cost taxpayers over $181 million, with an average salary of $125,000. (Catherine Tait’s salary and benefits range from $472,900 to $623,900, not including expenses).
In 2023, 1,450 CBC employees earned over $100,000, a significant increase from 2015, when only 438 employees had six-figure salaries. The CBC also awarded more than $11.5 million in pay raises to 87 percent of its workforce last year, with no employee receiving a pay cut. Since 2015, raises at the CBC have totalled $97 million.
In December 2023, Tait announced the elimination of eight hundred positions, including two hundred vacant roles, leaving six hundred employees jobless during an affordability crisis. This came despite CBC receiving $1.4 billion in annual taxpayer funding. A month later, in January 2024, Tait declared that millions of dollars in executive bonuses were still on the table for herself and top management. When asked if she personally deserved a bonus, she responded, “Absolutely yes.”
The CBC then paid out $18.4 million in bonuses in 2024, including $3.3 million for forty-five executives, averaging $73,000 each—more than the average Canadian worker’s salary. Bonuses also included $10.4 million for 631 managers and $4.6 million for 518 other employees. Since 2015, CBC bonuses have amounted to $132 million. Combined, raises and bonuses at the CBC have totalled over $229 million since 2015.
A Canadian Taxpayers Federation poll reveals that 81 percent of Canadians oppose these bonuses, which have cost taxpayers $132 million since 2015.
“Canadians don’t support the government wasting our money paying out big bonuses to CBC executives,” says CTF President Franco Terrazzano. “If Tait isn’t willing to do the right thing and cancel the bonuses, then the heritage minister, finance minister or Trudeau must step in and end the CBC’s taxpayer-funded bonuses.”
Even Friends of Canadian Media, an advocacy organisation that believes “Canadians deserve a strong and vital CBC,” has spoken out against the bonuses. “I’m sure you’ve heard about CBC/Radio-Canada’s decision to award $18 million in bonuses, just months after the announcement of significant job cuts,” said Marla Boltman, Executive Director of Friends of Canadian Media, in a recent newsletter. “This decision is deeply out of touch and unbefitting of our national public broadcaster.”
CBC management has been relentless in its pursuit of more taxpayer money. Before the 2016 federal budget, they lobbied for an additional $75 million for CBC/Radio-Canada, rising to $150 million for 2017 and beyond. In their 2016 “Call to Action,” they urged the federal government to restore and increase funding, claiming that the additional money would help support reconciliation and better reflect the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Indigenous peoples.
Despite securing hundreds of millions in extra funding, the results have been underwhelming. In 2023, CBC spent just $6.4 million—only 0.3 percent of its total budget—on Indigenous services, an amount that was less than half of what it allocated for staff bonuses. In comparison, the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN), which receives around $1.7 million annually from the federal government, dedicates about 27 percent of its programming to Indigenous languages and produces unique events, newscasts, online reporting, and investigative journalism—all with significantly fewer resources than CBC.
The CBC’s decline shows what happens when a publicly funded institution loses touch with its purpose and audience. Ineffective leadership, an inability to address falling viewership, biassed reporting, and questionable financial decisions raise serious doubts about its relevance in today’s media landscape. Despite billions in taxpayer funding and years of constructive criticism, the CBC has failed to evolve, leaving Canadians questioning the value of their investment and abandoning it in droves.
Despite criticisms regarding bias and management issues, defunding the CBC would be a drastic mistake that undermines its vital role in Canadian society. Instead of shutting it down, a new government should recalibrate it to enhance its accountability and impartiality.
The CBC is supposed to provide a unique platform for diverse voices, foster national unity, and contribute to an informed citizenry. By implementing targeted reforms—such as transparent governance practices and improved oversight and editorial accountability, Canada can strengthen the CBC’s credibility and responsiveness to the public. Investing in its transformation, rather than its termination, is the way ahead.
There are four basic steps that a new government must take to set CBC on a path that would justify future public funding over the proposed Conservative Party alternative of defunding it and closing the doors for good.
1. Mandate Clear Editorial Independence: Implement stronger governance and oversight to ensure balanced, unbiased reporting. By creating transparent editorial policies and independent review boards, the CBC can rebuild public trust by addressing concerns about political bias and providing a platform for all perspectives.
2. Shift Focus to Public Service Content: Redirect CBC’s resources toward more educational, cultural, and regional content that private broadcasters neglect. Focusing on areas like regional and local news, Indigenous programming, and documentaries that showcase Canadian diversity will reaffirm its role as a public service broadcaster.
3. Reduce Bureaucracy and Executive Pay: Streamline the CBC’s management structure and address concerns about top-heavy leadership. Reducing excessive executive bonuses and six-figure salaries while reallocating funds to frontline journalism and programming will demonstrate fiscal responsibility and accountability to taxpayers.
4. Embrace Digital Transformation: continue to expand CBC’s reach through podcasts, social media, and interactive content. CBC must engage younger audiences to remain relevant in an evolving media landscape as traditional TV and radio continue to decline.
PHOTO OF CATHERINE TAIT: Courtesy The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
