Liberal heritage minister Pascal St-Onge
Liberal heritage minister Pascal St-OngeCBC

Liberals propose doubling CBC funding amid election uncertainty, language divide and US ‘disinformation’

Published on

Feeling the CBC ‘love’ is going to cost Canadians double if the Liberal government has its way.

That was the message from Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, who proposed a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s public broadcaster in the face of what she said were threats from foreign influence — especially American ‘tech oligarchs’ — and opposition politicians that want to defund it.

Anything less is a demonstrable lack of “love” for Canadian culture, unity and national purpose in a rapidly changing media landscape she said from Ottawa on Thursday. Defunding what she called a national “treasure” is unpatriotic and plays into the hands of American social media “billionaires.”

CBC/Radio-Canada is more than a broadcaster — it is a pillar of our cultural identity and a cornerstone of our sovereignty,” she said. “Now more than ever, it is a national security issue.”

READ MORE
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge not seeking re-election, pushes modernizing CBC
Liberal heritage minister Pascal St-Onge
READ MORE
New CBC boss says Poilievre an 'existential threat' to public broadcaster
Liberal heritage minister Pascal St-Onge

To that end, St-Onge proposed a dramatic doubling of funding, to about $60 for every man woman and child in the country —  a move hailed by supporters as “essential” to protecting national sovereignty but criticized by Conservatives as wasteful spending. 

The decision comes as Canada heads into a federal election, widely expected in March, raising questions about whether the plan will survive if Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives take power.

The increase in funding, set to be rolled out over the next five years, is being framed by the Liberal government as a “crucial investment” in Canadian culture and media independence, particularly as foreign media giants like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok dominate the country’s information landscape. 

“The CBC is a pillar of our democracy, and we need a strong public broadcaster to ensure Canadians have access to reliable news and Canadian stories,” St-Onge added. "And I don't think the United States should be our reference in terms of how you should support a public broadcaster."

In addition to enshrining statutory per-capita funding levels in law, the CBC would also ban advertising on news programming and take steps to increase indigenous content while making its platforms free to all Canadians.

READ MORE
CBC to receive extra millions to offset unsold ads
Liberal heritage minister Pascal St-Onge

Last year the Liberal government increase the CBC outlay to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion despite cutting 10% of its workforce and handing out almost $15 million in bonuses to senior executives.

To that end, St-Ozge is also proposing to change its governance to remove the perception of political bias and making decision making more accountable to the public.

The funding boost in particular has reignited long-standing tensions between French and English Canada over the role of the broadcaster. CBC/Radio-Canada operates as a bilingual institution, but critics argue that the French-language arm, Radio-Canada, does not receive enough resources to serve francophone communities outside Quebec. 

Supporters insist the CBC plays a crucial role in preserving French-language media, but in English Canada, there’s a growing sense — especially among Conservatives — that it is out of touch and biased.

Despite the government’s announcement, the future of the plan remains uncertain. With a federal election looming, the possibility of a Conservative victory under Pierre Poilievre puts the entire strategy at risk. 

St-Onge herself announced this week she will not be running in the upcoming election, widely expected in March.

Poilievre, meanwhile, has made defunding the CBC a key part of his platform, arguing that the broadcaster is a drain on taxpayer money and promotes Liberal-friendly narratives.

“The CBC is not protecting Canadian culture, it’s protecting the Liberal government,” Poilievre said at a recent campaign event. “Canadians don’t need state-run media. We will end the CBC’s billion-dollar handout and let Canadians decide what news they want to watch.”

Instead of increasing accountability, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said it would decrease oversight while increasing its budget to almost $3 billion per year.

"So far, she wants to remove the money taxpayers pay for the CBC to be removed from the budget so we cannot see it as a line item anymore and stick in 'statutory appropriations' instead," Alberta director Kris Sims said on Twitter ("X").

logo
Western Standard
www.westernstandard.news