Liberal leader Mark Carney said Friday that his government would provide an increase in initial annual financing of $ 150 million for CBC and Radio-Canadá as part of a new mandate for the public broadcaster.
“When we compare ourselves with the United Kingdom, France or Germany, we see that our public broadcaster has no funds, “said Carney in French during a campaign stop in Montreal.” That has to change. “
That initial fund recharge could increase, said Carney.
“We hope that in the coming years, we will continue to increase that financing until you can compare it with that provided by other public broadcasters.”
Carney also said that the financing of the CBC and Radio-Canadá would become legal, which means that any change should be approved by Parliament, not only the government cabinet.
“The Canadians themselves and their entire Parliament must decide on the future of Radio-Canadá/CBC, not ideologues,” he said.
A mandate to strengthen local news
Carney said that these measures would be part of the development of the new mandate of the station, which will require a level of long -term financing in line with that of other national public broadcasters.
The proposed mandate would also include the strengthening of local news with more local offices and reporters, and the clear and consistent transmission of information that save life during emergencies.
CBC received an estimated $ 1.38 billion in 2024-25.
Carney plans for the CBC contrast with those of the conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
Poilievre has said that he wants to define the CBC while maintaining his programming in French. However, the corporation has said that such a measure would require the broadcasting law, the law that describes its mandate, “rewrite.”
The law requires that the public broadcaster provide programming both in French and in English, and does not give the government influence how resources are assigned to achieve it.
