How the CBC Divides Canadians

Dec 8, 2025

David Cayley, a veteran CBC journalist and author of The CBC: How Canada's Public Broadcaster Lost Its Voice, dives deep into the purpose of the CBC. He questions the network's fundamental ideology amid a fragmented public. Cayley recalls the CBC's golden age, discussing its role in shaping Canadian identity and the decline of its critical voice. He critiques the shift toward star-driven content and advocates for the CBC to foster debate and accommodate diverse opinions, emphasizing its need to challenge rather than comfort.

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INSIGHT

Ask Why The CBC Exists

The core question about the CBC is its philosophical purpose, not funding or bias debates.
David Cayley urges defining why the CBC exists before arguing operational fixes.

ANECDOTE

Convoy Coverage Missed Its Proposition

Cayley describes the Freedom Convoy as an emergent, mostly leaderless public phenomenon that felt like a party to participants.
He criticizes the CBC for turning its back and not engaging with the convoy's core proposition about vaccine mandates.

INSIGHT

CBC Should Break Polarization

Polarization and information bubbles reinforce enemy images and prevent dialogue.
Cayley argues the CBC should break solidarities by fostering questioning and engagement across divides.

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The CBC is broken: how should it be fixed? Defund the whole thing? Refund the whole thing? Double down on digital? Stop chasing digital relevance?

The list goes on and on. You've heard them all. But for a moment, forget about funding or even political bias. Just ask: why does the CBC exist?

What is its underlying ideology? Not its political ideology, but its philosophy for why we need it. Does it have one? Does it need one? If it does have one, is it working or is that what needs to change?

David Cayley spent over 40 years at the CBC as a journalist and producer. For 30 of those years he worked on CBC Radio’s Ideas program. He's now published a book, The CBC: How Canada's Public Broadcaster Lost Its Voice (and How it Can Get it Back). It's both an ideological history of the CBC's past and a manifesto for the CBC's future.

In it, he puts his finger right on the root problem. The CBC is there for everyone. It's supposed to speak to all of the Canadian public. However, if the public has splintered beyond recognition, what's left to speak to?

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured Guest: David Cayley

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

More information:

The CBC: How Canada's Public Broadcaster Lost Its Voice (and How it Can Get it Back) — Sutherland House
David Cayley

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