Poilievre: No Set Deadline for CBC Defunding, But Commitment Stands

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stated his continued intention to defund the CBC if he becomes prime minister, but he did not provide a specific timeline for this action.

Poilievre had previously emphasized the defunding of the CBC after assuming the role of Tory leader, citing a pro-Liberal Party bias within the public broadcaster. However, he has been less vocal about this issue during the current campaign.

During a campaign event in Montreal on April 15, Poilievre responded to questions from reporters by saying, “I don’t have a time frame, but … I’ve already made my position clear on that, and it hasn’t changed.”

“A Conservative government will maintain funding for francophone and Quebec culture,” he stated during a rally in Quebec City in late March.

Poilievre emphasized the need to fund Radio-Canada during the Montreal event, highlighting its importance in providing information to francophones across Canada.

On the subject of CBC, Poilievre expressed his intent to defund it and allow Canadians to enjoy it as a non-profit, self-funded entity.

In addition to criticizing the public broadcaster for bias, Poilievre has called out CBC for competing for advertising revenue with other media outlets while receiving $1.38 billion in funding from the government.

While defunding the CBC is not a central plank of Poilievre’s electoral platform, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has promised increased funding for the CBC to safeguard Canadian culture and institutions.

Carney has consistently mentioned the CBC during campaign events, stating on April 15 that erasing “important cultural institutions, like CBC/Radio-Canada,” is not the path Canada should take despite economic challenges.

Carney rejected the notion that Radio-Canada could be funded without CBC, outlining plans for a new Liberal government to review the broadcaster’s mandate to support disaster information dissemination and combat disinformation in the interest of trustworthy news sources for Canadians.

“Our plan will safeguard a reliable Canadian public square in a sea of misinformation and disinformation so we can stay informed and tell our own stories in our own languages,” Carney concluded.