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CRTC Origins

Canada’s telecommunications and broadcasting systems have been expanding and adopting technology innovations since the early days of telegraph communications and the first Canadian radio broadcast. The government regulates these important services to ensure that they contribute to Canada’s culture and economy and meet the social needs of Canadians.

Telecommunications under the Railway Act

When Canada was new, the main telecommunications challenge was to create a system that served the Canadian population across a vast territory. The telephone and telegraph companies were regulated by the Board of Railway Commissioners under the Railway Act. The Board was responsible for approving telephone service rates, ordering the interconnection of telephone systems and installing lines along highways and other public places.

Early broadcasting regulations

When Parliament formed the first Royal Commission on Broadcasting, it recommended that Canada have a national broadcasting network, supervised by an independent federal agency. In 1932, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) was established.

The CRBC both provided a national broadcasting service and regulated all broadcasting in Canada. With its regulatory responsibilities, the CRBC was the earliest version of the CRTC.

Evolution to the CRTC

Since then, there have been commissions, studies, hearings and legislation on how best to regulate broadcasting and telecommunications. From these discussions, the role of the CRTC evolved.

The CRTC was established by Parliament in 1968.

Today, the CRTC supervises and regulates Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications while remaining independent – so it can serve the needs and interests of Canadian citizens, industry and government. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Chronology

1852
The first Telegraph Act is passed.

1866
The first permanent transatlantic telegraph link is built, via a submarine cable between Ireland and Newfoundland.

1876
Alexander Graham Bell, of Brantford, Ontario, patents his invention – the telephone.

1880
The Bell Telephone Company of Canada is incorporated by a special act of Parliament.

1893
Bell Canada's charter is amended so it must get permission from the Governor-in-Council before increasing rates.

1900
There are now 19 transatlantic cables. The site with the highest concentration is in Nova Scotia.

1901
The first wireless (radiotelegraph) trans-Atlantic signals are sent from Cornwall, England to St. John's, Newfoundland.

1902
Canada's first wireless station is established in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

1905
The Radiotelegraph Act is passed. It’s the first Canadian legislation about the wireless telegraph.

1913
The Radiotelegraph Act is expanded to include the radiotelephone sector.

1918
The Department of Naval Service, under the authority of the Radiotelegraph Act, issues the first experimental broadcasting licence to a radio station – XWA in Montreal, Quebec. XWA, which is owned by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of Canada, later becomes CFCF.

1919
XWA Montreal is the first radio station to broadcast regular programming.

1923
Canadian National Railways (CN) installs radio equipment on trains.

1928
The Government of Canada forms a Royal Commission chaired by Sir John Aird. The Commission is to study broadcasting in the country and make recommendations on how to manage it in the future.
The Commission recommends creating a Canadian broadcasting network, to be supervised by an independent federal agency.
Three years later, in 1932, the government acts on the Aird Commission's Report.

1931
The first Canadian television station, VE9EC, goes on the air in Montreal. VE9EC is owned jointly by radio station CKAC and the newspaper, La Presse.

1932
The first trans-Canada telephone system is completed (the Copper Highway).
As recommended in the Aird Commission's report, Parliament sets up a special committee on broadcasting and passes the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act.
This legislation, amended in 1936, creates the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC).
The CRBC regulates and controls all broadcasting in Canada and provides a national broadcasting service. This involves determining the number, location and power of radio stations as well as the amount of time that should be devoted to national and local programming.

1933
The CRBC increases its audience and expands its programming. It also acquires CN's facilities.

1936
Amendments to the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act create a Crown corporation: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC replaces the CRBC and takes over the Commission's staff and facilities (8 public stations, 14 private stations).
The CBC is responsible for providing a national radio service in Canada. The Corporation produces, broadcasts and regulates programming.
The Department of Transport is created, which includes – in the Department of Naval Service – the Department of Railways and Canals and the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of National Defence. Telecommunications becomes the responsibility of the Department of Transport.

1937
Through the Minister of Transport, the CBC organizes the Havana Conference attended by the governments of a number of countries in the Americas, including the United States, Mexico and Cuba. They reach an agreement, called the Havana Agreement, about the frequencies they will use. This will reduce interference.
Under the Havana Agreement, Canada gets six unoccupied frequencies as well as other limited or shared frequencies. With these new frequencies, Canada introduces more powerful transmitters and expands its network.
With new transmitters in Toronto and Montreal, public radio can be heard by 76% of the population (up from 49%).

1938
The Board of Transport Commissioners for Canada regulates chartered telecommunications companies, called common carriers.

1939
A team of announcers and technicians accompanies the Canadian Armed Forces First Division to England, where they set up Radio Canada's overseas service.
Developments in telecommunications are mobilized for the war effort.

1941
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News Service is created. Special broadcasts include Sir Winston Churchill's speech to the House of Commons in Ottawa.

1942
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) calls on the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and the Canadian Association of Advertising Agencies to develop a system for setting the price of advertising air time. This leads to the creation of the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM).

1944
CBC creates a third public network, known as Dominion, to provide a second choice of English-language programs.

1949
CBC takes over the facilities of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland when that province enters Confederation.

1950
Cable & Wireless Limited and the Canadian Marconi Company become national companies, and a  Crown corporation is created: the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation (COTC). It  becomes Teleglobe in 1975.

1951
The Massey-Lévesque Commission formalizes the CBC's regulatory role.

1952
Canadian television (CBC) is launched. 
Canada's first urban cablevision facility opens in London, Ontario.

1955
First TV broadcast of the opening of Parliament.
CBC television is now accessible to 66% of Canadians.
A Royal Commission on broadcasting, chaired by Robert Fowler, is created.

1957
The Fowler Commission recommends that the CBC give up its role as a broadcasting regulator. It also recommends that upcoming legislation on broadcasting prevent non-Canadians from owning more than 20% interest in any Canadian radio or TV station.

1958
The first TV program is broadcast live from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. The CBC's microwave network is the longest television network in the world.
The CBC creates its Northern Service (radio).
A new regulatory body, the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG), takes over the CBC’s regulatory duties. The BBG regulates Canadian broadcasting, including the CBC and private broadcasters.
The BBG is given the power to establish regulations requiring stations to promote Canadian programming.

 
1960
The BBG invites private TV stations to apply to become networks.

1961
The CTV network (Canadian Television Network) is launched.
The CBC submits recommendations on satellite telecommunications in Canada.
The transatlantic telephone system is officially launched with a call from Queen Elizabeth II to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.

1962
The Alouette satellite is launched. Canada becomes the third country in the world to have a satellite in orbit.

1963
The government decides that the private sector should develop Canada's aerospace industry (known as the ISIS satellite program).

1964
A new committee on broadcasting is formed, the Fowler Committee.
The Committee urges the government to define its expectations for broadcasting and set objectives for both public and private broadcasting in Canada.
The Committee also recommends replacing the BBG with a new regulatory and licensing agency.

1965
The Canadian government announces its policy on colour television.

1966
The government defines its broadcasting policy: Canadians should maintain control over new communications technologies in order to preserve and strengthen Canada's social and economic structures.
Colour TV broadcasts begin in Canada.

1967
The Chapman Report recommends that Canadian research on space technology focus on communications and remote sensing. The Report also suggests that Canada offer this expertise to the international market. This results in the creation of the Department of Communications and Telesat Canada in 1969.

1968
A white paper on satellite telecommunications is released.
The first televised debate by leaders of political parties in Canada (a joint CBC/CTV production) takes place.

The Broadcasting Act is passed. The Act does the following:

• confirms CBC's position as a national broadcaster
• strengthens restrictions on foreign ownership
• requires that Canadian programming be created by mainly Canadian talent
• confirms the idea that the broadcasting system can strengthen Canada's cultural, social and economic structures
• creates the Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC), a new regulatory agency that becomes the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1976

1976
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act expands the CRTC's jurisdiction to include telecommunications companies.

1984
First specialty services MuchMusic and TSN are approved. Later Telelatino and Chinavision are licensed.

1991
Parliament amends the Broadcasting Act.

1992
CRTC allows long-distance competition in the telecommunications industry.

1993
Parliament passes a new Telecommunications Act.

1995
The first licences for direct-to-home satellite service (DTH) are granted to Bell ExpressVu and Power DirecTv.

1997
CRTC introduces local competition in the telecommunications industry.

1999
The CRTC licenses the world's first service devoted to aboriginal peoples for nationwide distribution, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).
The CRTC becomes one of the first communication regulators in the world to clarify its position on the Internet.

2000
The CRTC sets out a licensing structure for digital specialty and pay television services.

2001
The CRTC reports to the Governor-in-Council on French-language broadcasting services in communities where it is not the language spoken and understood by the majority of people.

2004
The CRTC assigns 3-1-1 as the phone number for non-emergency municipal government services.

2005
The government creates a Telecommunications Policy Review Panel to make recommendations on how to update Canada’s telecommunications policies.

Canada’s first 3 subscription radio services are approved.

2006
The CRTC reports to the Governor-in-Council on the future of the Canadian broadcasting system.

The Government of Canada directs the CRTC to rely on market forces as much as possible to achieve the policy objectives of the Telecommunications Act.

Television programming delivered through cell phones and other mobile devices is exempted from regulation.

2007
The CRTC sets August 31, 2011 as the date by which TV stations will broadcast only digital signals.

A new consumer agency, headed by a Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services, is established.

The CRTC deregulates the first local telephone markets in Canada.

Wireless number portability is up and running, so that Canadians can keep the same telephone number when they switch cell phone companies.

2008
The CRTC submits a report to the Governor-in-Council on the Canadian Television Fund.

The CRTC takes a new approach with media ownership to maintain diversity in the Canadian broadcasting system.

The National Do Not Call List is launched so that Canadians can reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls they receive.