Majority of Canadians want to preserve CBC and continue funding it: survey

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press

A national survey about the role of a public broadcaster in today’s media climate suggests a majority of Canadians want to preserve CBC/Radio-Canada.

The poll by McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy found that 78 per cent of respondents want to see the public broadcaster continue to operate, and 57 per cent would either increase or maintain funding.

But respondents did have some concerns. When asked whether they agreed or disagreed with prepared statements covering common criticisms, about a third agreed CBC “shouldn’t have ads,” while 31 per cent agreed with the criticism of “biased reporting” and 27 critiqued it was “too woke.”

The future of the CBC has been a subject of debate over the past year, as Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is vowing to defund the public broadcaster if elected in the next federal vote.

The CBC is set to receive $1.4 billion from the government in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to Heritage Canada documents.

In the survey released Oct. 23, a third of respondents agreed with the statement that the public broadcaster does not receive enough reliable funding. Separately, 45 per cent said they would support establishing a long-term funding model for the organization.

Heritage Canada announced Oct. 22 that Quebec television executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard will be the next president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.

Several observers called for CBC to revamp its funding model after Bouchard’s appointment was announced.

Annick Forest, president of the Canadian Media Guild which represents 6,000 workers including employees at the CBC and The Canadian Press, expressed hope that Bouchard will help Ottawa transition the public broadcaster to a more sustainable long-term funding model. Current funding is allocated annually through the federal budget.

“CBC/Radio-Canada must have access to stable, and long-term funding to continue this valuable work,” Forest said in a statement last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the NDP called for reform at the public broadcaster.

“It is time to ban executive bonuses at a time when jobs are being cut,” NDP Heritage critic Niki Ashton said in a statement.

Current CBC boss Catherine Tait has been criticized after millions of dollars in executive bonuses followed a round of layoffs during the last fiscal year.

Ashton also stressed the need for the CBC to strengthen its local and regional journalism at a time when the broadcaster has cut jobs and private broadcasters have shut down news offices.

When asked whether a large public broadcaster like the CBC/Radio-Canada remains essential or relevant to Canadians in the digital age, 79 per cent of respondents said it was either as important or more important than ever.

However, two-thirds couldn’t name a single journalist they trusted. Of the ones who were named, the most trusted figures came from mainstream outlets such as CBC and CTV, although some — such as former news anchors Peter Mansbridge and Lloyd Robertson — retired from journalism.

The survey polled 2,055 Canadian adults over the summer using Abacus Data. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/-2.16 per cent, 19 times out of 20.