History of broadcasting in Canada

Radio was introduced in Canada in the late 1890s, although initially transmissions were limited to the dot-and-dashes of Morse code, and primarily used for point-to-point services, especially for maritime communication. The history of broadcasting in Canada dates to the early 1920s, as part of the worldwide development of radio stations sending information and entertainment programming to the general public. Television was introduced in the 1950s, and soon became the primary broadcasting service.

History

Major themes in Canadian broadcasting history include: development of the engineering technology construction of stations and the building of networks widespread purchase and use of radio and television sets by the public debates regarding state versus private ownership of stations financing of the broadcast media through the government, licence fees, and advertising changing programming content, including concerns about American "cultural imperialism" via the airwaves, and its impact on Canadian identity media's influence on shaping audience responses to music, sports and politics role of the Québec government and Francophone versus Anglophone cultural tastes and the role of other ethnic groups and First Nations impact of the Internet and smartphones on traditional broadcasting media.Robert Armstrong, Broadcasting Policy in Canada (2013)Marc Raboy, Missed Opportunities: The Story of Canada's Broadcasting Policy (1990)

Early radio development

From the late 1890s until 1913 there were few regulations covering radio communication in Canada. The earliest stations were only capable of transmitting Morse code; despite this limitation as early as May 1907 the Marconi station at Camperdown, Nova Scotia began broadcasting time signals on a regular schedule."The First Wireless Time Signal" by Captain J. L. Jayne, Electrician and Mechanic, January 1913, page 52 (reprinted from The American Jeweler, October 1912, page 411)

The Radiotelegraph Act of June 6, 1913 established general Canadian policies for radio communication, then commonly known as "wireless telegraphy". Similar to the law in force in Britain, this act required that operation of "any radiotelegraph apparatus" required a licence, issued by the Minister of the Naval Service."Laws and Regulations—Canada", The Year-Book of Wireless Telegraphy & Telephony (1914 edition), pages 131-132. This included members of the general public who only possessed a radio receiver and were not making transmissions, who were required to hold an "Amateur Experimental Station" licence,"Regulations: 18. Amateur Experimental Licenses",The Canadian Gazette, June 27, 1914, page 4546. as well as pass the exam needed to receive an "Amateur Experimental Certificate of Proficiency", which required the ability to send and receive Morse code at five words a minute."Regulations: 97. Amateur Experimental Certificate",The Canadian Gazette, June 27, 1914, page 4550. (This policy contrasted with the United States, which only required licenses for operating transmitters, and had no restrictions or taxes on individuals only using receivers).

With its entrance into World War I in August 1914, Canada generally banned the civilian use of radio receivers and transmitters. This restriction remained in force until 1 May 1919."Our Canadian Cousins" (correspondence from E. T. Scholey), QST, September 1919, page 27. Radio regulation remained under the oversight of the Department of Naval Service until July 1, 1922, when it was transferred to civilian control under the Department of Marine and Fisheries."5. Radiotelegraph Service", Report of the Department of the Naval Service for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1922 (June 30, 1922), page 27.

During World War I, advances in vacuum tube technology made audio transmissions practical. There was no formal category of radio stations providing entertainment broadcasts intended for the general public until April 1922, so the earliest Canadian stations making broadcasts operated under a mixture of Experimental, Amateur, and governmental authorizations.

Information about the earliest experimental broadcasts is limited. One pioneer was William Walter Westover Grant,"Timeline of W.W. Grant's contribution to radio in Canada" (1914-1935), Museum of the Highwood Archives 989-078-001 (virtualmuseum.ca) who served in the British Royal Air in France during World War I, where he gained extensive experience installing and maintaining radio equipment."'The Voice of the Prairie' A Brief History of W. W. Grant (1892-1968)" by Robert P. Murray, The Early Development of Radio in Canada, 1901-1930, pages 103-108. After the war ended, he returned to Canada where reportedly in May 1919 he "constructed a small station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, over which voice and music were broadcast in probably the first scheduled programs in Canada"."Noted Engineer Pioneered CFCN", The Canadian Broadcaster, April 1943, page 17. In 1920 Grant began working for the Canadian Air Board's Forestry patrol, developing air-to-ground communication for the spotter aircraft used to report forest fires, initially using radiotelegraphy. The original base was located at Morley, Alberta, where Grant constructed station CYAA."W.W.W. 'Bill' Grant (1892-1968)" by J. Lyman Potts, Canadian Communications Foundation, March 1997 (broadcasting-history.ca) In January 1921 operations moved to the High River Air Station in southern Alberta,"Forest Fire Air Patrols Observe Million Sq. Miles" by Chester A. Bloom, Calgary Daily Herald, October 29, 1921, page 26. where Grant established station VAW, which was capable of audio transmissions. In addition to the forestry work Grant began making a series of experimental entertainment broadcasts,"Radio Telephone Concert For the Canadian Club, Calgary Daily Herald, April 6, 1922, page 9. believed to be the first in western Canada. Grant left the forestry project and established the W. W. Grant Radio, Ltd. in Calgary, which on May 18, 1922 was issued the city's third commercial broadcasting station license, with the randomly assigned call letters CFCN (now CKMX)."CKMX-AM" Canadian Communication Foundation (broadcasting-history.ca)

A better known example was a Montreal station, which was first licensed sometime between April 1, 1914 and March 31, 1915 as experimental station XWA to the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of Canada, Ltd. ("Canadian Marconi"),"Licensed Experimental Stations" included in "Sessional Paper No. 38, Report for the Naval Service for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 1915", from Sessional Papers: Sixth Session of the Twelfth Parliament of the Dominion of Canada (1916, volume 27, page 119) and was one of the few civilian stations allowed to continue operating during World War I, when it was used to conduct military research."Radio in Quebec society: Key dates" by Pierre Pagé. (phonotheque.org) At first it only transmitted Morse code, however during the spring of 1919 employee Arthur Runciman began a series of voice tests,Murray, Robert P. (2005) The Early Development of Radio in Canada, 1901-1930, pages 23-24. although initially the equipment was promoted as being useful for point-to-point communication rather than broadcasting."Wireless 'Phones Being Installed", Montreal Gazette, March 22, 1919, page 5."Wireless Phones Being Installed", (Portland) Oregonian, March 22, 1919, page 5. In early 1919, parent company British Marconi shipped a surplus 500-watt transmitter to Montreal for evaluation."Early Days in Canadian Broadcasting" (Adventures in Radio - 14) by D. R. P. Coats, Manitoba Calling, November 1940, page 7."The Birth of Canadian Broadcasting" (Adventures in Radio - 13) by D. R. P. Coats, Manitoba Calling, October 1940, page 8. As was common at a number of early stations, the engineers soon tired of having to repetitively speak for the test transmissions, and began to play phonograph records, which drew the attention of local amateur radio operators.Murray (2005) page 29. The first documented broadcast of entertainment by XWA to a general audience occurred on the evening of May 20, 1920, when a concert was prepared for a Royal Society of Canada audience listening 110 miles (175 kilometers) away at the Château Laurier in the capital city of Ottawa."Ottawa Hears Montreal Concert Over the Wireless Telephone; Experiment Complete Success", Ottawa Journal, May 21, 1920, page 7."Wireless Concert Given for Ottawa", Montreal Gazette, May 21, 1920, page 4. XWA eventually began operating on a regular schedule, at first run almost single-handedly by Douglas "Darby" Coats.Douglas "Darby" Coats (1892-1973) by Pip Wedge, May 2005, Canadian Communications Foundation. Coats went on to have a long broadcasting career. (broadcasting-history.ca) Sometime in 1921 the station's call sign was changed to "9AM", reflecting a policy change in the call signs issued to experimental stations, and a short notice in the November 1921 issue of QST magazine reported that it was now broadcasting once a week on Tuesdays starting at 8 p.m."Strays", QST magazine, November 1, 1921, page 47. In April 1922, the station received a commercial broadcasting station license with the randomly assigned call letters of CFCF,"Radio Department: Broadcasting Stations", Winnipeg Evening Tribune, April 25, 1922, page 5. (Within the "CF" assignments, this first group also included CFCA (Toronto), CFCB (Vancouver), and CFCE (Halifax). In this list, CKCE Toronto should be 450 instead of 45 meters, and for Winnipeg, "CHCE" should be CHCF and "CKbC" should be CKZC.) and it later adopted the slogan of "Canada's First"."In Montreal it's CFCF" (advertisement), Sponsor, August 13, 1951, page 70. This station was deleted, as CINW, in 2010.

In addition to the developing experimental broadcasts taking place in Canada, some American stations, especially at night, could easily be received in the heavily populated parts of Canada.

Formal establishment of broadcasting service

In January 1922 the government lowered the barrier for individuals merely interested in receiving broadcasts, by introducing a new licence category, Private Receiving Station, that removed the need to qualify for an amateur radio licence.Mary Vipond, Listening In: The First Decade of Canadian Broadcasting 1922-1932, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992, pages 22-23.Radiotelegraph Regulations: License to Operate a Radio Receiving Equipment", The Canada Gazette, September 23, 1922, page 7. The receiving station licences initially cost $1 and had to be renewed yearly. They were issued by the Department of Marine and Fisheries in Ottawa, by Departmental Radio Inspectors, and by postmasters located in the larger towns and cities, with licence periods coinciding with the April 1-March 31 fiscal year."Radiotelegraph Regulations: Licenses", The Canada Gazette, September 23, 1922, page 1."Radio Telephone Receiving Sets Must Be Licensed", Calgary Daily Herald, April 19, 1922, page 9. As of March 31, 1923 there was a total of 9,996 Private Receiving Station licenses."Table 73: Wireless and Radio Stations in Operation in Canada, as at March 31, 1923", The Canada Year Book (1922-1923 edition), page 685. The licence fee eventually rose to $2.50 per year to provide revenue for both radio and television broadcasts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, however, it was eliminated effective April 1, 1953."Budget Speech Delivered by Hon. D. C. Abbott, Minister of Finance, in the House of Commons, Thursday, February 19, 1953", page 21 (gc.ca)