A reasoned (and slightly exasperated) look at why defunding the CBC would cost Canada far more than it saves.

• The U.S. media model is the exception, not the standard
• Defunding CBC would weaken Canadian democracy and regional voices
• Private media in Canada is heavily consolidated and foreign-owned
• Public broadcasting remains a vital firewall against misinformation

People often point south when talking about “media freedom.”
You know the script: Look at the U.S. — free market, choice, competition.

Sure. Competition. Outrage is competing with conspiracy, competing with whatever keeps you scrolling.

Meanwhile, nearly every healthy democracy funds public broadcasting — the BBC, ARD, ABC Australia, NHK. These aren’t museum pieces. They’re civic infrastructure.

The U.S. is the outlier, not the model. And if you look honestly at what that system has produced, it should make anyone who cares about truth a little uneasy.

CBC doesn’t exist to chase ratings.
It exists so Canadians — from Nunavut to Niagara — can still hear themselves in the national story.

When truth has to earn a profit, it loses.

Look at Sinclair Broadcast Group in the U.S.
They own or control almost 200 “local” TV stations.

Local, of course, meaning anchors across multiple states reading the same centrally scripted political messages.

That’s not journalism. It’s staging.

When news becomes a product, the winning story isn’t the accurate one — it’s the one that fires up the most clicks.

CBC’s reporters don’t work for hedge funds or advertisers. They aren’t performing outrage theatre.

They answer to Canadians.

Here at home, nearly half of all daily newspaper circulation is controlled by Postmedia — a company majority-owned by U.S. hedge fund Chatham Asset Management.

So yes, a large portion of our private media effectively answers to an American investment firm whose priority is profit, not Canadian civic life.

Private ownership doesn’t guarantee independence.
It guarantees someone’s bottom line.

CBC, however, has structural firewalls:

• Editorial independence in the Broadcasting Act
• A Board of Directors with staggered terms
• A public Ombudsman accountable to citizens

Every government complains that CBC is biased.
That’s usually a sign the broadcaster is doing its job.

Some assume that if CBC receives public money, the government must control it.

If that logic held, then courts, elections, and watchdog agencies would be political puppets too. They aren’t — because funding is not controlled. It’s collective ownership.

CBC’s independence isn’t accidental.
It’s engineered into the law and governance structure.

If public funding automatically created propaganda, the BBC, ARD, and NRK would all be state megaphones.
They aren’t. They’re among the most trusted news organizations in the world.

Public funding protects journalism. It doesn’t corrupt it.

CBC’s funding works out to about 30 dollars per Canadian per year.

Thirty dollars.

For comparison:
• The UK pays roughly 270 CAD per household for the BBC
• Norway spends around 100 CAD per person
• Germany and France spend significantly more per capita

Canada funds its national broadcaster on a shoestring, yet demands world-class reach.

For that small amount, we get bilingual national news, northern and Indigenous coverage, international bureaus, children’s programming, digital journalism, radio, podcasts, and more.

Calling this “unfair competition” is like saying libraries compete unfairly with bookstores.
One sells information.
The other ensures access to it.

Democracy needs institutions that cannot be bought.

Courts protect justice.
Elections protect legitimacy.
Public broadcasting protects the truth.

CBC doesn’t chase outrage. It isn’t beholden to shareholders. It doesn’t adjust its facts to keep a sponsor happy.

When misinformation spreads, CBC acts as a counterweight — a place where facts are checked, not manufactured.

A democracy without a public broadcaster isn’t freer.
It’s simply unprotected.

Canada is huge, scattered, bilingual, and diverse.
Private media cannot — and will not — cover every corner of it, because there’s no money in doing so.

CBC reports from the North, from Indigenous communities, from disaster zones, and from remote regions where commercial media doesn’t bother showing up.

CBC Gem, CBC Listen, and CBC News Online reach millions — especially younger Canadians who don’t watch traditional TV.

This isn’t a relic.
It’s a public service evolving faster than its critics.

CBC doesn’t just tell Canada’s stories.
It keeps Canada visible to itself.

CBC’s entire budget represents less than 0.2 percent of federal spending.

Less than one-fifth of one percent of the federal budget is, apparently, the great moral crisis of our time.

The CBC supports thousands of jobs, regional economies, and creative industries.
Private media receives public subsidies too — often with fewer accountability requirements.

If money were the real issue, those private subsidies would have solved journalism years ago.

We don’t need demolition.
We need reform and long-term investment.

Every few years, someone calls for the CBC to be defunded. The argument is usually wrapped in the language of “efficiency” or “fairness.”

But underneath is a deeper question:

Do we still believe in public things?

The U.S. let the market decide the fate of journalism.
Now, “news” is just another form of entertainment.

Canada still has a choice.

The CBC isn’t perfect.
It isn’t meant to be.

The point is that it’s permanent, public, and ours.

The real question isn’t whether we can afford the CBC.
It’s whether we can afford a Canada without it.

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