Alberta German-language radio station wins CRTC approval to expand local programming

CALGARY — A community radio station serving German-speaking farm families in northern Alberta has received federal approval to expand its broadcasts, five years after regulators initially rejected the service over concerns it could hinder participation in Canadian society.The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the expansion of CJLC-FM from La Crete to nearby Weberville following demand for more local Mennonite Low German programming, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“CJLC-FM will be able to satisfy demand for local content in the Mennonite Low German language,” the CRTC wrote in Broadcasting Decision 2026-207.The decision permits operators of the 47-watt community station in La Crete, about 700 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, to extend service to Weberville.The station plans to carry religious programming, regional news, weather forecasts, municipal decisions, community events and announcements in German, along with some English commentary.“The Commission notes the programming offered by the applicant’s specialty station is not aimed at the same broad audience as the existing commercial stations in the Weberville market,” the CRTC wrote.The approval comes after the commission rejected an earlier licence application in 2021, claiming the German-language station could hinder residents’ ability to “better participate in Canadian society.”Station director Abram Zacharias questioned the reasoning at the time and said the proposed service was particularly important for older residents with limited English skills..Political voices, fans across Canada continue reacting to Rogers radio shutdowns.“What do they even mean by that?” Zacharias said in a 2021 interview. “I get tons of people asking us if this is up and running. We have older residents who don’t understand some of the English language that well, and this is for them.”Zacharias said the station intended to offer music, talk shows, news, programs for seniors and children, and church programming.The decision comes amid major changes in the languages spoken across Canada. Statistics Canada has not yet compiled language results from the 2026 Census, but the 2021 Census found the number of Canadians whose mother tongue was neither English nor French had reached its highest level since the question was introduced in 1901.“One in four Canadians or nine million people had a mother tongue other than English or French,” Statistics Canada said in its 2022 report, Linguistic Diversity and Use of English and French in Canada.Language patterns varied considerably by province.In Ontario, the number of Cantonese and Mandarin speakers exceeded the francophone population. In Alberta and Manitoba, more residents spoke Tagalog than French.Saskatchewan had more speakers of English, Tagalog, German or Cree than French. In British Columbia, French ranked sixth behind English, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog among languages spoken in households.Research commissioned by the federal languages commissioner in 2022 also found 38% of English-speaking Canadians preferred that their children learn a second language other than French.Support for learning another language instead of French rose to 43% among Canadians whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, 41% among those born outside Canada and 47% among racialized respondents, according to the Official Languages Tracking Survey.

Alberta German-language radio station wins CRTC approval to expand local programming

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