As the CBC’s Board of Directors meets in Ottawa today, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is launching a new Reform the Board social media campaign calling for the CBC’s existing Board to be replaced.

Currently, eight of ten members of the CBC Board – all appointed by Stephen Harper – are or have been financial supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada.

FRIENDS’ video begins with a clip from Justin Trudeau stating that the CBC Board should be chosen in a “non-partisan, transparent, open way” by people who hold more than just the “narrow, political interests of one political party or another”. Trudeau made these comments in April 2024, and they are echoed in the Liberal Party’s election platform, that promises “merit-based and independent appointments”.

“We agree with the Prime Minister. The federal government should create a new governance structure for CBC with Directors appointed in a non-partisan, merit-­based manner,” FRIENDS’ spokesperson Ian Morrison said.

Noting that the terms of several Harper-­appointed CBC directors expire after the next general election, Morrison said: “Now that the federal government has re-invested in the CBC, it is more important than ever to ensure it is led by the best and brightest, people who do not harbour a hostile political agenda towards the CBC. President Lacroix has already outlined plans to spend the new money, despite the government’s election platform commitment to “work with CBC/Radio-Canada in consultation with the Canadian cultural community, on a new strategic plan that incorporates this renewed funding”.

Even though the Trudeau government has made a substantial new investment in the CBC, the current Board of Directors is continuing its bid to commercialize the CBC, seeking the CRTC’s permission to extend its unpopular and unsuccessful advertising on Radio 2 and ICI Musique. Thousands of Canadians opposed to the CBC’s request have already intervened in a CRTC process that closes on Wednesday, June 22nd.