In 2024, former editor-in-chief of The Walrus, Jessica Johnson, conducted a nationwide survey titled “Do We Need the CBC?” to explore how Canadians view the current media landscape and where CBC fits into it. The survey reflects broader discussions about the role of Canadian news media, sparked by Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre’s pledge to defund the CBC if elected as Canada’s next prime minister. 

Personally, while I feel that the CBC is not without its flaws, defunding is not the answer since it plays a core part in Canadian media. However, the CBC needs to reform its coverage to fit the country’s diverse demographic — only then will Canadians be able to see its full potential.

Further, I believe the group whose opinions have been most consistently overlooked in these conversations is also the one most affected by the potential defunding of the CBC — the Canadian public. To bridge this gap between the public and the government, Johnson and her team ask the pressing question: How do Canadians truly feel about the CBC?

Necessity over perfection

I recently sat down with Johnson — who also teaches ENG394 ‘Literary Journalism,’ offered as a special topics course in 2024-2025 — to discuss the findings of her survey. 

In other countries, public service broadcasts like the UK’s BBC and Germany’s ARD receive funding that is nearly nine to ten times higher than what the CBC receives from Canada. This disparity manifests in various ways in Canadian broadcasts. 

On a smaller scale, less funding often results in lower production quality in broadcast shows. On a larger scale, the lack of funding could impact the breadth of subject matter that a news outlet is able to cover, especially in areas like diverse perspectives and languages. 

The concern over whether Canadians need the CBC doesn’t seem to be a controversial debate among the public. Johnson’s research found that 78 per cent of Canadians want the CBC to continue operating, while 57 per cent would like to either maintain or increase its funding. 

While findings on exactly what direction the CBC should take are less clear, the statistics demonstrate that the CBC still remains important to the majority of Canadians. Evidently, despite its shortcomings, people still turn to the CBC for its coverage and accessibility.

However, many survey respondents were divided on CBC’s integrity, with opinions nearly evenly split on whether it is biased or unbiased. I personally believe the CBC is biased — such as in its coverage of Gaza and its censorship of Palestinian perspectives, and its whitewashing of Israeli crimes. They even reassigned former CBC journalist Molly Schuman to another project after she pitched a way to fairly represent two genocide scholars with opposing views on Israel and Palestine. Still, I don’t support calls to defund it.

While I do believe that there must be robust calls for public broadcasters to strive for neutrality, defunding every public broadcaster with imperfections would result in them all disappearing. As Johnson’s survey shows, even if Canadians aren’t united on what they want from the CBC, they are united in their desire for it to continue.

More than just news 

If the CBC were merely a news source, there might be more room for debate. Rather than debating its need based on its shortcomings and low funding, we should consider its role in the lives of Canadians. Eliminating the CBC would also mean losing something whose loss would be much more detrimental — a distinctly Canadian news outlet. 

As part of its mandate, the CBC stated that its programming aims to “contribute to a shared national consciousness and identity,” “be predominantly and distinctly Canadian,” and “Reflect the multiracial and multicultural nature of Canada.” 

I believe there are a number of shared experiences among Canadians that ignite a sense of collective nationhood. From reporting on stories like updates on mercury pollution in Grassy Narrows First Nation, to Canadians creating murals on snowdrifts, the CBC is a symbol of Canada’s ability to tell its own stories, for its people. 

In a public sphere that is largely dominated by US news — a superiority which is reflected even in the pervasiveness of American films in Canadian theatres — I believe it is more crucial than ever to keep Canadian media alive. 

It is also important to consider the role the CBC plays in the life of the average Canadian. A recent CBC report from February highlights how Canadians rely on the CBC during periods of shared struggle or anticipation. 

Through February 1–3, 4.5 million Canadians tuned into the CBC News Network, awaiting news on US tariffs, making it the most-watched Canadian news network during this period. Additionally, the CBC’s 2021-2022 annual report highlighted record-breaking numbers for digital and television viewership on national Election Day. 

As Canada’s top source for breaking news, it is clear that eradicating the CBC could be incredibly destructive to how Canadians consume their news. 

A call for reform: what should the CBC look like?

In a world where arguably few things unite all Canadians, I believe the CBC serves as a rare source of national cohesion. Without it, I wonder if any other outlet could offer comprehensive coverage of both big and small Canadian affairs in their entirety. 

The CBC doesn’t always get it right, but I believe it has the potential to. If there’s no definitive way to define what it means to be Canadian, then the CBC serves to reflect the many identities that shape it. 

So, the answer isn’t to eliminate the CBC but to push for reform. Namely, its representational coverage could be stronger. It must continue asking consumers what they truly want — whether that’s less biased reporting, more diverse perspectives, or greater multilingual coverage. 

Perhaps the question we should be asking is not “Do we need the CBC?” Rather, the CBC should concern itself with what role it can play in creating a platform that recognises the increasingly diverse ways there are to be Canadian.

Ayesha Siddiqui is a third-year student at Woodsworth College studying history and English. She is an associate editor for the Trinity Times and The Woodsworth Review, director of Humans of the Ummah for the Muslim Student’s Association, journal editor-in-chief for The Future of History, and a columnist for the What’s New in News column of The Varsity’s Opinion section.