The CBC created the Dominion Network as a second English-language radio service, alongside its main Trans-Canada Network. This structure helped the CBC and its private affiliates offer a broader mix of programs while still supporting a national public-service mission. It also set a pattern for using networks to reach listeners across Canada more consistently.
The CBC began using the name “Trans-Canada Network” for its primary English-language radio network, distinguishing it from the Dominion Network. The Trans-Canada service emphasized news, public affairs, culture, and education—core goals of public service broadcasting. This branding helped clarify the CBC’s national role as radio audiences grew during and after World War II.
CBC started launching FM stations, initially as simulcasts (duplicate broadcasts) of existing AM radio programming. Although FM listening was still limited, this early investment created a pathway to higher-fidelity audio and later separate FM programming. It was one step in expanding public broadcasting services beyond the AM band.
A major federal cultural commission (often called the Massey Commission) recommended that Canada develop television in a way that supported Canadian culture and public goals. Its recommendations were influential in shaping early television policy and helped support the idea that the CBC should build television transmitters in major cities, with additional coverage through affiliates. This laid groundwork for nationwide CBC television expansion in the 1950s.
CBC’s television era began when CBFT in Montreal started regular broadcasting. Early service was still limited in reach and hours, but it marked a major shift from radio-only national broadcasting to a new mass medium. The launch also demonstrated the CBC’s intent to provide public-service television, not just commercial entertainment.
CBLT in Toronto began regular television programming two days after CBFT, creating the first backbone of CBC Television in English Canada. With Montreal and Toronto on air, the CBC could begin building a network strategy: produce programs centrally and distribute them more widely as transmission links expanded. This was the starting point for turning television into a national service rather than a local experiment.
CBC’s CBUT in Vancouver became the first CBC television station in Western Canada. This was a major geographic expansion, but it also highlighted a practical challenge: Canada’s large distances made live national television difficult until better long-distance links were built. Even so, placing a CBC station on the Pacific coast advanced the goal of public-service broadcasting across the country.
CBWT in Winnipeg extended CBC Television deeper into the Prairies, helping the network move toward broader national coverage. Adding stations in major regional centers increased the audience for Canadian programs and strengthened the case for building more reliable cross-country distribution. It also supported local news and regional production within a national public broadcaster.
CBHT began broadcasting in Halifax, giving CBC Television a major station in Atlantic Canada. With stations operating in multiple regions, the CBC could more effectively serve its public-service mandate: news, culture, and national events for audiences outside central Canada. The next step was linking these stations live so programming could truly be shared coast to coast.
Canada’s national microwave relay network officially opened, enabling live television and improved long-distance communications across the country. For CBC, this was a turning point: it made real-time national broadcasts practical, supporting shared programs, breaking news, and major events from coast to coast. This technical backbone helped public service broadcasting feel truly national rather than regional.
CBC formally began the Northern Service by taking over CFWH in Whitehorse and integrating it into the CBC network. This move expanded public service broadcasting into remote regions where private media options were limited and distribution was difficult. Over the next few years, the CBC added more northern stations and relays, building a foundation for broader northern coverage.
CBC began airing separate (non-simulcast) programming on its English-language FM stations, moving FM toward its own service rather than just repeating AM. This helped the CBC offer different types of content—especially music—while improving sound quality for listeners with FM receivers. It also signaled the CBC’s growing role in providing multiple public-service radio services, not just one national schedule.
CBC launched its own television station in Edmonton (CBXT), a sign that the network was strengthening direct CBC-owned presence in key cities. This shift reduced reliance on private affiliates for core network service in major markets. It helped the CBC deliver a more consistent public-service schedule, including national news and Canadian programming, across Western Canada.
The CBC dissolved the Dominion Network, ending the two-network structure in English radio. This consolidation simplified national radio service and marked a transition toward the modern CBC Radio model, with a clearer public-service focus. It also reflected a media landscape where television had become the dominant national entertainment medium, changing radio’s role.
CBC became the first Canadian television network to broadcast in colour, beginning a major technical and programming transition. Colour required expensive upgrades to cameras, studios, and transmitters, but it also modernized the network and helped keep Canadian broadcasting competitive with U.S. signals available near the border. This change shaped how CBC expanded service and invested in infrastructure through the late 1960s.
CBC signed on CHAK-TV in Inuvik as part of efforts to extend television service into the North. Northern television faced challenges like distance, climate, and limited infrastructure, so stations and relays were often built as part of larger “frontier coverage” packages. This launch showed how CBC’s expansion goals included remote communities, not only large southern cities.
CBC Radio and Television Expansion across Canada (1940–1970)