Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

.

Origins

The CRBC was established in 1932 by the government of R.B. Bennett based on the recommendations of the 1929 Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting
Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting
The Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, otherwise known as the Aird Commission, was chaired by John Aird and examined Canada's broadcasting industry. The report released its findings in 1929 when it concluded that Canada was in need of a publicly funded radio broadcast system...

 and as a result of the lobbying efforts of the Canadian Radio League
Canadian Radio League
The Canadian Radio League was a public pressure group led by Graham Spry and Alan Plaunt to mobilize support for the establishment of public broadcasting in Canada...

. The network was created on May 26, 1932 and existed until November 2, 1936 when it was reorganized as a Crown corporation becoming the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

. Daily national broadcasting began in May 1933 with an hour's programming a day which was increased over time.

At its creation, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Bennett spoke of the need for public control of radio saying:
"This country must be assured of complete Canadian control of broadcasting from Canadian sources. Without such control, broadcasting can never be the agency by which national consciousness may be fostered and sustained and national unity still further strengthened."


The three-man commission had a mandate to regulate, control all broadcasting in Canada as well as to create and transmit its own programming and to lease, purchase or construct stations for its dissemination. Its ability to carry out its mandate was severely restricted by the financial constraints of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 and it was forced to rely on private stations to carry its programs to much of the country.

Bennett named Hector Charlesworth
Hector Charlesworth
Hector Willoughby Charlesworth was a Canadian writer, editor, and critic. From 1904 to 1910 he was an editor and critic at the Toronto Mail and Empire. In 1910 he went to Saturday Night and was its editor from 1926 to 1932...

, editor of Saturday Night
Saturday Night (magazine)
Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...

magazine, as chairman of the CRBC. The other members of the Commission were Thomas Maher, an unsuccessful Quebec Conservative candidate in 1930 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1930
The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada...

 and director of a private radio station in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 and Lieutenant Colonel W. Arthur Steel.

Regulator

In addition to being a creator of programming and a broadcaster, the CRBC was responsible under the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act for regulating and controlling all broadcasting in Canada, including privately owned radio stations that did not carry CRBC programming. The CRBC's regulatory responsibilities included determining the number, location and transmitting power of radio stations as well as the amount of time spent carrying local and national programming.

Operations

The CRBC acquired radio stations from the Canadian National Railway radio network in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 and Moncton for $50,000 as well as CNR Radio studios in various other cities and leased or established additional stations in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Chicoutimi, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

. The CNR stations had been created in the 1920s to provide broadcasting for railway passengers. The CRBC also hired private stations across the country to carry at least three hours a day of CRBC programming. These affiliates were known as "basic stations". CRBC-owned or leased stations had the prefix "CRC" in their call-letters.

E. Austin Weir, formerly of the CNR radio network, became the CRBC's program director. He was terminated, however, for not providing enough programming. Weir was replaced by Ernie Bushnell who became director of CRBC programming in Ontario and Western Canada and Arthur Dupont who was responsible for Quebec and the Maritimes.

Programming

Network programming included orchestral music, live Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City...

 from NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 and New York Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts from CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

, dramatized informational programs such as The Youngbloods of Beaver Band which serialized life on a western Canadian farm. One of the best known national drama series was Radio Theatre Guild produced in Montreal by Rupert Caplan. Under program director Ernie Bushnell, CRBC increased the number of weekly English language series being broadcast over the network to 17 by the time of the network's demise.

Another CRBC program, one which originated on the CNR's network in 1931, was Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...

under the names Saturday Night Hockey, General Motors Hockey Broadcast and then, starting in 1934, The Imperial Oil Hockey Broadcast. Other programming including fare such as Bible Dramas from CRCM Montreal, Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...

 News
- a 15 minute nightly newscast from CRCT Toronto presented by Charles Jennings (the father of Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...

), Western Radio Players a weekly dramatic half-hour from CKY Winnipeg and Northern Messenger, a weekly program originating from Toronto but aimed at Canadians living in the far north including personal messages to RCMP officers, missionaries, trappers and others from family and friends, the program was continued by CBC into the 1970s.

CRBC's nation-wide radio coverage of the 1935 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1935
The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...

 was the first time Canadian election results were broadcast nationwide.

All programs were live as there were no recording facilities. The network had six stations of its own and relied largely on private affiliates to provide studios, equipment and staff.

In April 1936, CRBC provided round the clock coverage of the Moose River Mine Disaster in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 with announcer J. Frank Willis broadcasting live reports from the mine head every half hour for five days as rescue crews attempted to recover the lost miners. The reports were broadcast throughout Canada as well as to 650 stations in the United States and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

The CRBC turned to radio advertising in order to make up a shortfall between government grants and the amount of money needed to run the network.

Demise

The network was criticized by the Canadian Radio League
Canadian Radio League
The Canadian Radio League was a public pressure group led by Graham Spry and Alan Plaunt to mobilize support for the establishment of public broadcasting in Canada...

 for having poor programming while the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 opposition accused the network of being biased towards the governing Conservatives.

During the election campaign, the CRBC broadcast a series of 15 minutes soap operas called Mr. Sage which were critical of Opposition leader
Leader of the Opposition (Canada)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...

 William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

 and the Liberal Party. Decried as political propaganda, the incident was one factor in King's decision to replace the CRBC with a new entity when the Liberals took office following the election.

New legislation was introduced creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a crown corporation with an arm's length relationship with the government. The management of the CRBC, including Charlesworth, were dismissed and the new CBC was launched on November 2, 1936 with a new management team.

At its demise, the CRBC was made up of eight network owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...

s and 14 privately owned network affiliate
Network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry , a network affiliate is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program or radio program line-up of a television or radio network, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network...

s.

The CRBC's regulatory powers were largely transferred to the CBC while the role of licensing stations and allocating wavelengths was assumed by the newly created Department of Transport. In 1958, the Board of Broadcast Governors
Board of Broadcast Governors
The Board of Broadcast Governors was a Canadian arms-length government agency created in 1958 to regulate television and radio broadcasting, originally taking over that function from the CBC. It was replaced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 1968....

 assumed responsibilities for regulating public and private broadcasters from the CBC and the Department of Transport and in 1968, with the adoption of the Broadcasting Act
Broadcasting Act
The Broadcasting Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada regarding broadcasting of radiocommunications...

, regulation became the responsibility of the Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC).

CRBC owned stations

  • CRCA Moncton (closed October 31, 1933)
  • CRCK
    CBV-FM
    CBV-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of Radio-Canada's Première Chaîne network in Quebec City. The station broadcasts at 106.3 FM from Mount Bélair....

     Quebec City AM 1050
  • CRCS
    CBJ-FM
    CBJ-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Saguenay, Quebec.Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , it broadcasts on 93.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts using an omnidirectional antenna.The station has an ad-free news/talk format and...

     Chicoutimi AM 950
  • CRCM
    CBME-FM
    - External links :* * at Canadian Communications Foundation...

     Montreal AM 910
  • CRCO
    CBO-FM
    CBO-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Ottawa, airing at 91.5 FM, and serves much of Eastern Ontario through a network of relay transmitters.-History:...

     Ottawa AM 880
  • CRCT
    CBLA-FM
    CBLA-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting at 99.1 FM in Toronto, Ontario.- History :...

     Toronto AM 840
  • CRCY
    CJBC (AM)
    -External links:* * * at Canadian Communications Foundation...

     Toronto AM 1030 and AM 1420
  • CRCW Windsor AM 600
  • CRCV
    CBU (AM)
    CBU is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of the CBC Radio One network in Vancouver, British Columbia. The station broadcasts from Steveston on 690 AM and from Mount Seymour on 88.1 FM....

     Vancouver AM 1100


All but the Moncton stations later became CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 stations. Most of these stations are now FM stations, but the latter three are still AM stations on frequencies:
  • Toronto AM station now CJBC (AM)
    CJBC (AM)
    -External links:* * * at Canadian Communications Foundation...

     860
  • Windsor AM station now CBE (AM) 1550 (until 30 September 2011; in transition to CBEW-FM 97.5)
  • Vancouver AM station now CBU (AM)
    CBU (AM)
    CBU is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of the CBC Radio One network in Vancouver, British Columbia. The station broadcasts from Steveston on 690 AM and from Mount Seymour on 88.1 FM....

     690

CRBC affiliates

  • CHNS Halifax
  • CHSJ
    CHSJ-FM
    CHSJ-FM is a radio station at 94.1 MHz on the FM dial in Saint John, New Brunswick. The station plays country music under the Country 94 branding. CHSJ is owned by Acadia Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Ocean Capital Investments.- History :...

     Saint John
  • CHNC
    CHNC (AM)
    CHNC-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in New Carlisle, Quebec, Canada.Owned and operated by Coopérative des travailleurs CHNC, it broadcasts on 107.1 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiated power of 3,800 watts and a peak effective radiated power of...

     New Carlisle, Quebec
  • CKCH Hull
  • CFRC Kingston
  • CFPL
    CFPL (AM)
    CFPL, or AM980, is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment and based in London, Ontario, Canada that transmits at 10,000 watts at 980 kHz on the AM dial. The station primarily airs news, talk and sports programming.-History:...

     London
  • CKY
    CBW (AM)
    CBW is the callsign of the CBC Radio One station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The station broadcasts at AM 990, and this frequency functions as a Class A clear channel under former North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement allocations.-History:...

     Winnipeg
  • CKCK
    CKCK-FM
    CKCK-FM, a Canadian radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan, was one of the world's pioneering radio stations. Its current incarnation is known on air as Jack FM, and broadcasts at 94.5 MHz. It is housed at 2401 Saskatchewan Drive in Regina, with CJME and CIZL-FM.- History :In 1922, the...

     Regina
  • CFQC
    CKBL-FM
    CKBL-FM, branded as 92.9 The Bull, is a country radio station located in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The station is part of the Saskatoon Media Group, and has studios with sister stations CJWW and CJMK-FM. They are at 366 3rd Avenue South, downtown on the river.-History:The station...

     Saskatoon
  • CKBI
    CKBI (AM)
    CKBI is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts a country music radio format at 900 AM in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The station also serves as the broadcast home of the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. All three stations of Rawlco Radio Prince Albert are located at 1316...

     Prince Albert
  • CHAB
    CHAB (AM)
    CHAB is a radio station broadcasting an Oldies format. Licensed to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, it serves south-central Saskatchewan. It first began broadcasting in 1922 at 1200 kHz as 10AB , before moving to 1220 kHz in 1941 and to its current dial position in 1946. The station is currently...

     Moose Jaw
  • CJCA
    CJCA (AM)
    CJCA is a Canadian radio station. It operates at 930 AM with the current brand name "AM930 The Light" in Edmonton, Alberta. It was first licensed on May 1, 1922 and it first broadcast on May 22, 1922, becoming Alberta's first radio station...

     Edmonton
  • CFAC
    CFAC (AM)
    CFAC is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at AM 960 in Calgary, Alberta. The station, owned by Rogers Radio, broadcasts sports programming with the brand name Sportsnet 960, The Fan.-History:...

     Calgary
  • CHWK
    CKSR-FM
    CKSR-FM is a Canadian radio station located in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The station, operating at 98.3 FM with 5000 watts of power, is owned by Rogers Communications...

     Chilliwack
  • CFCJ
    CKBZ-FM
    CKBZ-FM is a radio station in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Broadcasting at 100.1 FM, the station airs a hot adult contemporary format branded as B100. The station is currently owned by the Jim Pattison Group....

     Kamloops
  • CKOV
    CKOV-FM
    CKQQ-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format branded as 'the Q or Q103•1' went live at 5 PM February 3, 2010 to the Sheryl Crow song "Change" with a commercial-free music "sampler". It officially relaunched on February 8, 2010 at 5:30 AM with the morning show...

     Kelowna
  • CJAT
    CJAT-FM
    CJAT-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format at 95.7 FM in Trail, British Columbia and is also heard in Castlegar at 90.3 FM and Grand Forks at 103.3 FM, including other rebroadcasters.-History:...

     Trail


With the exception of CKY (now CBW
CBW (AM)
CBW is the callsign of the CBC Radio One station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The station broadcasts at AM 990, and this frequency functions as a Class A clear channel under former North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement allocations.-History:...

, unrelated to today's CKY-FM
CKY-FM
CKY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a adult contemporary format on 102.3 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CITI-FM. CKY-FM competes with Hot 103 and Energy 106.-History:...

), the remaining affiliates are no longer connected the CBC.

External links

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