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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is a federal Crown corporation and the national public broadcaster for radio and television in Canada. The mandate of the corporation is to promote Canadian programming on radio and television broadcasting networks.
Private commercial radio stations in Canada were first licensed in 1922; however, by the late 1920s many Canadians were listening to American radio stations. Recognizing the need for a strong Canadian presence and to protect Canadian culture the federal government established a royal commission in 1928 to advise on the future of broadcasting in Canada. The following year the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, chaired by John Aird, recommended the creation of a publicly funded national radio broadcast network.
In 1932 the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) was established and took over a network of radio stations which had been set up by the Canadian National Railway (a federal Crown corporation) in order to broadcast programs to its passengers on trains. On November 2, 1936 the CRBC, a state-owned company, became a Crown corporation and was reorganized and renamed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in English and Société Radio-Canada in French. Commonly known as CBC and Radio-Canada both short-form names are used when referring to the corporation as a whole, CBC / Radio-Canada.
In September 1952 CBC and Radio-Canada television stations in Toronto and Montreal began broadcasting. By July 1, 1958 CBC / Radio-Canada's television signal extended across the country.
Today, CBC / Radio-Canada radio and television programs are offered in English, French and aboriginal languages and many of the programs are accessible via the internet.
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