The CBC Scandal: Why Taxpayers Are Losing Faith in Canada’s State Broadcaster
Canada’s national broadcaster, the CBC, is once again at the centre of controversy — this time over its use of the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Recently uncovered government documents show that the CBC, despite receiving $1.4 billion annually in taxpayer funding, has been quietly hiring foreign workers for positions in its Ontario offices. These were not obscure, hard-to-fill jobs in niche industries, but roles such as broadcasters, announcers, web designers, and computer programmers — professions in which Canadians are more than qualified to compete.
This revelation has sparked outrage, not only because it undermines the broadcaster’s claim to be a cultural institution “by Canadians, for Canadians,” but also because it reflects the growing disconnect between Canada’s legacy institutions and the public they are supposed to serve.
The CBC’s reliance on taxpayer dollars has long been a point of debate, but the revelation that it has used Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to justify hiring at least 20 foreign workers over the last decade raises serious questions. The LMIA process is supposed to ensure that no Canadian is available to do the job before an employer brings in a temporary worker. Are we really to believe that in a country of nearly 40 million people, no Canadian could be found to work as an announcer or web developer for the CBC?
Conservative heritage critic Rachael Thomas captured the public mood when she asked: “Why is our public broadcaster turning to foreign workers instead of investing in Canadian talent? Canadians deserve answers.”
That’s the heart of the issue. At a time when young Canadians are facing one of the toughest job markets in decades, and when taxpayers are struggling through an affordability crisis, the CBC has turned to overseas labour — while continuing to demand more funding from Ottawa.
The hiring scandal comes on the heels of another controversy: the CBC’s refusal to disclose subscriber numbers for its streaming service, CBC Gem. Despite being funded by taxpayers, the broadcaster charges Canadians $5.99 a month for an ad-free experience on Gem. To make matters worse, much of the content on the platform is imported from the U.S. and the U.K. rather than original Canadian programming.
When an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, Matt Malone, requested Gem’s subscriber data, the CBC not only declined but also sued to keep the numbers secret — openly defying an order from the Information Commissioner. Malone called it an effort to “avoid transparency.”
Think about that for a moment. A publicly funded institution, which owes its existence to Canadian taxpayers, is spending more public money to hide information from those very taxpayers. It’s no wonder more Canadians are questioning whether the CBC has outlived its usefulness.
Instead of reform, federal leaders appear determined to double down. Former Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge suggested increasing CBC funding by nearly 80%, to $2.5 billion a year, framing it as a “national security issue.” Prime Minister Mark Carney went further, pledging an additional $150 million annually and promising to make funding statutory so it could not be cut by future governments.
Carney dismissed budget cuts as “an attack on our identity,” calling the CBC “the most important of Canadian institutions.” But this kind of rhetoric falls flat with everyday Canadians who see little value in bankrolling a broadcaster that hires foreign workers for Canadian jobs, fights against transparency, and streams mostly foreign content while charging extra fees.
The scandal surrounding the CBC is about more than one broadcaster. It reflects a broader shift in how Canadians view massive, taxpayer-funded institutions. In an era of social media, independent creators, and digital platforms, the monopoly once held by state broadcasters has collapsed. Canadians can now access diverse news sources and entertainment options instantly, often with more transparency and accountability than the CBC provides.
Why, then, should taxpayers continue to spend $1.4 billion a year — and possibly much more in the future — on a politically biased, outdated institution? For many, the answer is simple: they shouldn’t.
The CBC’s defenders argue that it plays an essential role in serving remote communities and preserving Canadian culture. But these goals could be met at a fraction of the cost. A scaled-down CBC that provides essential services in underserved regions might be justifiable. A sprawling, billion-dollar empire that competes with private broadcasters, hires foreign workers, sues to avoid transparency, and charges taxpayers twice — once through taxes and again through subscription fees — is not.
Canadians are losing patience with institutions that demand more while delivering less. The CBC scandal is only the latest chapter in a long story of declining trust. In 2025 and beyond, the debate shouldn’t be whether the CBC gets more funding. It should be whether the CBC, in its current form, should exist at all.