With Conservatives promising to 'defund,' could the next election kill the CBC?

In late 2023, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said it was time for the federal government to redefine what the CBC does and how it does it.

In late 2023, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said it was time for the federal government to redefine what the CBC does and how it does it.

A year later — and with a federal election expected sometime this spring — her office is promising the minister will unveil the planned changes to the public broadcaster's mandate in "due course." But with Parliamentary business on hold until late March due to prorogation, and opposition parties champing at the bit to trigger an election, getting any legislative changes to the CBC's mandate passed may be a long shot.

In the meantime, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is sticking to his promise to "defund" the CBC if his party forms the next government.

"Yes, I am going to do it," he said in a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, adding he would be "very quick" to follow through on his promise.

That means the CBC's current role, its prospects for reform and its very existence are set to become election issues in the coming campaign.

Peter Menzies, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, predicted "the CBC will find itself in the very ticklish position of reporting on an election campaign in which it is a significant feature."

Sarah Andrews, director of government and media relations at the advocacy group Friends of Canadian Media, said the public broadcaster will be a "huge" election issue for Canadians.