Canadians won’t see what cabinet is planning for a massive new CBC subsidy until after the next federal budget, as the Department of Canadian Heritage has pushed back disclosure of a key funding memo by five months.The document, titled Elements Of A Renewed Approach To Strengthen Canada’s National Public Broadcaster, was prepared for Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault and dated May 30, just weeks after Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to boost the CBC’s $1.4 billion annual subsidy if Liberals were re-elected. Blacklock's Reporter says the department said the request covers “a large number of records” and won’t be released until 2026.Carney promised $150 million in new spending for the CBC, claiming the broadcaster is central to Canadian culture and identity. He also pledged to make that subsidy statutory, though all federal spending still requires approval by Parliament..Carney dismissed critics, calling the CBC “the most important of Canadian institutions” and arguing that any cut would undermine national identity. Guilbeault's predecessor in Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, had already proposed raising the broadcaster’s budget 79% to $2.5 billion annually, calling it a matter of national security.“It’s now or never,” St-Onge said before leaving politics. “To not understand that reality shows a lack of understanding of the global context we’re in and it shows a lack of love for our own country.”
