Vicky Eatrides to the Banff World Media Festival

Press Release

From: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

June 15, 2026

“Adapting with purpose: modernizing Canada’s broadcasting framework”

Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

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Introduction

Good morning, and thank you, Julie, for the warm welcome.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional territory of the Treaty 7 First Nations, including the Stoney and Siksika First Nations. I would like to thank them and pay respect to their Elders.

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today. This is my third time attending the festival, and it is a pleasure to see new and familiar faces.

I am pleased to be here with several of my fellow CRTC Commissioners, including the Vice-Chair of Broadcasting, Nathalie Théberge, our regional Commissioners – Claire Anderson, Ellen Desmond and Nirmala Naidoo – as well as the head of our Broadcasting team, Scott Shortliffe.

When I looked at the agenda for this week, I was struck by the remarkable breadth of conversations taking place. While the topics vary widely, they all point to the same underlying theme – adaptation.

And it is adaptation that I would like to focus on this morning.

As you know, the CRTC is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates the Canadian communications sector in the public interest. We hold public consultations on telecommunications and broadcasting matters and we make decisions based on the public record.

Many of you will have seen the Government’s announcement a couple of weeks ago about its intention to issue new policy directions to adjust the implementation of the Online Streaming Act. Until those directions are released, it is difficult to know precisely how they may affect our work. But for now, I would offer two observations.

First, our work continues. We remain focused on supporting a modern, sustainable broadcasting system that serves Canadians.

Second, adaptation has always been a part of the regulatory landscape.

If we look back at the history of broadcasting policy in Canada, we see that its purpose has remained consistent. The Broadcasting Act is about ensuring that Canadian stories have a place in our broadcasting system — because it matters that Canadians can see themselves, their communities, and their experiences reflected on screen.

What has changed over time is not the purpose, but the means of achieving it. The “why” remains constant, while the “how” continues to evolve.

As technologies have advanced, business models have shifted, and audience habits have changed, our laws and regulatory frameworks have evolved as well. The role of the CRTC is to implement the legislation enacted by Parliament and to apply it in a changing environment, while continuing to advance the longstanding objectives of Canadian broadcasting policy.

I will spare you a comprehensive history of the Broadcasting Act – which might test both our schedule and your patience – but I would like to spend a few moments reflecting on the purpose that continues to underpin Canada’s broadcasting system today.

The broadcasting system of the past

Let me begin by taking us back – just for a moment – to the early days of broadcasting, when radio was the only form of broadcasting.

A century ago, much of the programming Canadians heard originated outside our borders and was overwhelmingly English-language. As broadcasting grew in influence, so did concerns about whether Canadian stories, voices, and perspectives would have a place on the airwaves.

In 1929, the Aird Commission recognized the importance of building a strong Canadian broadcasting system — one that could protect and promote Canadian culture, including French-language content. Its recommendations led to the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932, a landmark piece of legislation that laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Broadcasting Act.

About twenty years later, the Massey Commission reaffirmed that vision. It observed that, in a country as vast as Canada, “broadcasting will undoubtedly become a great force in fostering a national spirit and interpreting national citizenship.”

Then came television, which transformed the broadcasting landscape once again. For the first time, news, entertainment, and storytelling entered Canadians’ homes not only through sound, but through images.

Yet many of the same concerns remained.

Much of the programming Canadians watched was produced elsewhere and did not reflect Canadian voices, stories, or experiences. As foreign programming became increasingly prominent, questions about how to support Canadian content became more pressing.

Parliament responded by continuing to adapt the legislative framework.

In 1968, the Broadcasting Act was revised and a formal broadcasting policy for Canada was established. For the first time, the Act explicitly set out the objective that the Canadian broadcasting system should safeguard, enrich, and strengthen Canada’s cultural, social, political, and economic fabric. That objective has remained at the heart of every version of the Act since.

The 1968 reforms also established the CRTC as an independent quasi-judicial tribunal.

Since then, the Act has undergone two major updates. The first came in 1991, with a stronger emphasis on supporting Canadian production, reflecting the diversity of Canadian society, and helping Canadian content reach wider audiences. The second came in 2023, in response to the profound changes brought about by the digital age.

The broadcasting system of the present and future

That is when Parliament gave us the mandate to modernize Canada’s broadcasting framework. That means implementing the Online Streaming Act and accompanying policy direction, which required the CRTC to ensure that online undertakings contribute in an equitable manner to Canadian and Indigenous content.

The scale of that mandate is significant.

To put it in perspective, when the CRTC was created in 1968, we had 13 policy objectives. Today, we have 73 – nearly six times as many. And that is before accounting for the 52 directives contained in the 2023 policy direction.

Of course, Canada is not alone in facing these challenges. Around the world, regulators are grappling with the same question: how do we adapt our frameworks to a broadcasting environment being reshaped by new technologies, new business models, and changing audience habits?

So, how are we approaching that task?

As a quasi-judicial tribunal, we begin by listening.

We consult broadly. We gather evidence. And we hear directly from Canadians and those who work across the broadcasting system.

The level of engagement has been extraordinary. Through our consultations – including four public hearings – we received more than 1,700 interventions representing a wide range of views and experiences.

We heard from broadcasters, artists, producers, public interest organizations, accessibility groups, equity-deserving communities, Indigenous peoples, and individual Canadians. Those perspectives have been invaluable, and they have helped shape the decisions we are making.

As we have implemented the modernized Act, we have remained focused on three broad outcomes: supporting high-quality Canadian content, fostering a sustainable and more equitable broadcasting system, and providing greater clarity for all participants.

Let me start with Canadian content.

At its core, our goal is straightforward: to ensure that Canadian stories continue to be created, shared, and discovered – no matter what platform Canadians are using.

To help achieve that goal, we updated the definition of audio-visual Canadian content for the first time in more than 40 years.

For many of you in this room, that definition is more than just a technical requirement. It helps determine whether a television program or film is recognized as Canadian content and is eligible for support within the system.

Historically, that determination has been based largely on whether Canadians occupy key creative roles, such as director and screenwriter. The idea is simple: Canadian stories are strongest when they are shaped by Canadian perspectives.

But the industry has evolved, and so have the ways stories are brought to life.

Our updated definition recognizes a broader range of creative roles that contribute to a production’s Canadian identity, including positions such as showrunner and makeup artist. We also introduced optional bonus points for productions based on Canadian books or featuring Canadian or Indigenous characters.

Taken together, these changes create more opportunities for Canadian talent, Canadian perspectives, and Canadian stories to be recognized and supported.

We also addressed the growing role of artificial intelligence.

There is no question that AI has the potential to be a valuable tool in the creative process. But we also made it clear that the key creative positions that define Canadian content should continue to be filled by people.

Another important change relates to intellectual property.

We recognized that ownership matters. When Canadians retain a stake in the intellectual property they create, they are better positioned to maintain creative control, develop new opportunities, and build lasting partnerships over time.

For that reason, Canadian ownership of intellectual property is now one of the factors we consider when determining whether content qualifies as Canadian.

The second outcome is sustainability.

A strong broadcasting system must be able to adapt and thrive in the face of change. It needs to support creators today while remaining resilient enough to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

That is why we established a new framework for investments in Canadian and Indigenous content. The framework is designed to be flexible and forward-looking, while encouraging collaboration across Canada’s creative sector. Our goal is to help ensure that the system continues to support the creation and promotion of Canadian stories for years to come.

The third outcome is clarity.

In a rapidly changing environment, clarity matters.

Creators, broadcasters, and audiences all benefit from a framework that is transparent, predictable, and easy to navigate. Clarity gives organizations the confidence to plan, invest, and innovate.

A good example is our work on discoverability.

Creating great Canadian content is only part of the equation. Canadians also need to be able to find it.

That is why we established a framework designed to make Canadian content more visible and accessible across platforms. The framework is guided by clear principles and expectations, and recognizes the unique importance of content created in English, French, and Indigenous languages.

Taken together, these initiatives represent an important chapter in the ongoing evolution of Canada’s broadcasting system.

But they are not the final chapter.

As we implement the modernized Broadcasting Act, we remain guided by a consistent purpose: ensuring that Canadian and Indigenous stories continue to be created, shared, discovered, and heard.

That purpose endures even as the system around it evolves. And as new challenges arise – and new policy directions are introduced – we will continue to adapt, just as Canada’s broadcasting system has done throughout its history.

Conclusion

Let me close where I began: with adaptation.

Across the history of Canadian broadcasting, the technologies have changed. The platforms have changed. Audience habits have changed. But the purpose has remained constant.

For decades, Canada has recognized that our stories matter – that Canadians should be able to see themselves, their communities, and their experiences reflected in the broadcasting system.

That work is not carried out by legislation alone. It is brought to life by creators, producers, broadcasters, and storytellers – people like you.

As the system continues to evolve, our shared responsibility is clear: to ensure that Canadian and Indigenous stories continue to be created, discovered, and shared.

Because those stories do more than entertain. They connect us, reflect who we are, and help define how Canada sees itself – and how the world sees Canada.

So let us continue to adapt. Let us continue to innovate. And let us continue to champion Canadian and Indigenous stories.

The next chapter of Canadian broadcasting is still being written.

Let us make it one filled with bold ideas, diverse voices, and stories that connect Canadians to one another and to the world.

Thank you.

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