Broadcast Dialogue has unveiled the winners of the 2025 Canadian Radio Awards. By station, Stingray Radio’s boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto won three awards, including Program Director of the Year (Large Market) for Troy McCallum, On-Air (solo) Host of the Year for morning man Stu Jeffries, and Music Director of the Year for Wayne Webster. boom 97.3 was also the runner-up for Station of the Year (Large Market), with Pattison Media’s 102.3 NOW! Radio (CKNO-FM) Edmonton taking the honour for a second year in a row. By radio group, Rogers Sports & Media came away with a leading five awards, followed by Vista Radio (4), Bell Media (3), and Stingray Radio (3). Find the full list of winners and listen to their award-winning audio at CanadianRadioAwards.com.
REVOLVING DOOR:
Marc Miller has been appointed as the new Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages. Monday’s cabinet shuffle came just days after Steven Guilbeault stepped down from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, following the announcement of an energy deal between Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Miller, who hails from Quebec, most recently served as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship under Justin Trudeau. Following Carney’s swearing in this past March, Guilbeault was removed from the Environment portfolio and reassigned as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, and Parks Canada, in addition to serving as Carney’s Quebec Lieutenant. Guilbeault previously served as Canadian Heritage Minister from 2019-21. Read more here.
Melanie Ng
Melanie Ng has departed CityNews Toronto as her family relocates to Calgary. Ng had most recently been hosting CityNews 24/7 middays. She previously stepped away from Breakfast Television after 11 years in 2022 after first joining CityNews in 2010 as a field reporter.
Kelli Rickard
Kelli Rickard has retired from the Acadia Broadcasting newsroom in Halifax. Rickard’s radio career started in 1986 in Saint John, NB at CFBC, going on to stops in Montreal, Northern Ontario, and Truro, NS. She landed in Halifax in 1992 at CJCH, which led to stints at C100 (CIOO-FM), 780 KIXX (CFLT-FM), 96.5 SUN/KOOL-FM (CKUL-FM), Q104 (CFRQ-FM) and most recently as morning anchor for Acadia’s Hot Country 103.5 (CKHZ-FM) and Surge 105 (CKHY-FM), in addition to its Thunder Bay stations.
Lane Steinhauer
Lane Steinhauer, Director of Engineering and Operations at CTV, is among those caught up in the latest round of layoffs at Bell Media. Steinhauer had been with the company for 43 years.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Jennifer Hollett, Executive Director of The Walrus, and Amanda Cupido, Founder and CEO, Lead Podcasting
The Walrus has acquired Toronto-based podcast production house Lead Podcasting, expanding its award-winning audio storytelling and The Walrus Podcasts. Lead Podcasting was founded in 2020 by CEO Amanda Cupido, who’ll continue to work with The Walrus Lab – The Walrus’ client services wing – in a leadership role as their Executive Podcast Advisor, alongside Lead Podcasting’s production team as it merges with The Walrus Podcasts. The Walrus Lab has worked with Lead Podcasting in the past to produce podcasts, including Sorry for Your Loss, in partnership with Mount Pleasant Group, history podcast Canadian Time Machine with the Government of Canada, and From Research to Impact with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Read more here.
LISTEN: Jennifer Hollett and Amanda Cupido are on the Sound Off Podcast talking about why the acquisition is a strategic alignment of values centred on fact-based storytelling and community connection and how The Walrus Lab plans to leverage Lead Podcasting’s production expertise to expand their podcast offerings.
radioCount’s fall 2025 release saw reach and time spent listening grow year-over-year across all demos. Across all markets combined, radio reached an average of 2.1 million people, 12+, a 1.7% increase over fall 2024. Listeners spent an average of 17.9 hours listening to radio, up 0.8% year-over-year. Both the continuously measured and fall-only markets also had gains in cume from a year ago. For the fall-only markets, overall time spent listening rose from 17.9 hours a week in fall 2024 to 18.1 hours this year. Average weekly cume increased 1.8%, reaching 1.67 million people. radioCount says cume and radio tuning continued to trend upward among both the key adult 18-49 and 25-54 demos. Read more here.
Local Radio Lab (LRL) has rolled out the Indie brand across its radio stations. The company acquired Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto, which carries an Adult Album Alternative (AAA) format, last year from Rock 95 Ltd. Local Radio Lab said it’s now extending that “look” and “feel” across its properties, including 101.3 Indie FM (CJML-FM) Milton, which evolves from Adult Contemporary format FM 101; 101.5 Indie FM (CKMO-FM) Orangeville, which was also branded as FM 101; 92.1 Indie FM (CIMA-FM) Alliston in South Simcoe; in addition to 102.7 Indie FM (CJFB-FM) Bolton, which Local Radio Lab acquired from Vista Radio earlier this year. The stations will carry a hybrid AC/AAA format, with local hosts to be complemented by Indie88 personalities. Read more here.
Fanshawe College broadcast students are demanding tuition refunds after losing access to campus radio station, 106.9 The X (CIXX-FM), for the winter 2026 semester. After suspending numerous programs earlier this year amid a sharp decline in enrolment, the London-based college made an appeal for partners to keep the station going earlier this fall saying that without future students in the radio program beyond April 2026, Fanshawe was unable to continue supporting the station financially. It appears without a partner stepping forward, it’s slated to go dark by the end of December. Students from the Broadcasting – Radio and Media Production and Journalism – Broadcast programs have submitted a formal letter outlining concerns about how loss of access to the station will impact “program delivery, tuition value, and advertised academic services.” Read more here.
The Allan Slaight Radio Institute at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has received an additional $1 million gift from The Slaight Family Foundation. The investment will sustain the Allan Slaight Entrance Awards and will continue the Broadcaster-in-Residence program, connecting students with industry leaders and alumni. It will also enhance staffing with a new event coordinator role, establish a fund dedicated to student-led productions, and provide for tech upgrades and maintenance across the Allan Slaight Radio Institute.
CKCU FM 93.1 Ottawa-Gatineau celebrated 50 years Nov. 14-16. The first campus-based community station in Canada, CKCU launched Nov. 14, 1975, with the strains of Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” after starting as an AM radio club at Carleton University in the 1960s. CKCU alumnus Mark Sutcliffe, now Mayor of Ottawa, delivered a Proclamation declaring Nov. 15 as CKCU-FM Radio Carleton Day in the city.
Z103.5 (CIDC-FM) Orangeville host Tony Monaco has been recognized with the Order of Vaughn, the city’s highest honour. Monaco has been heard on Evanov Communications’ Z103.5 for more than three decades, most recently in evenings.
Bayshore Broadcasting’s Country 105 (CFDC-FM) Shelburne, ON collected over 500 used coats and winter boots for the Coats For Dufferin and Shoes 4 Shelburne campaigns through the month of November. Listeners also filled more than four full bins of pumpkins, now on their way to Silver Willow Farm Rescue and Sanctuary in Mansfield, ON, where the animals there will enjoy a pumpkin feast.
The Nation Network has launched Off The Roster, a new sports show covering Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabral “Cabbie” Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, they’ll discuss the latest news from the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Sceptres, Tempo, and Blue Jays, as well as major events like the World Cup, Olympics, and Super Bowl. Off The Roster airs weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on the new Nation Network YouTube channel. Content is also being featured across social media on X, Instagram, and TikTok @Offtherosterpod.
Ivar Hamilton and Scot Turner have launched new podcast, Music Milestones YYZ, celebrating Toronto’s musical legacy. Part oral history, part backstage pass, and part love letter to Toronto, Music Milestones YYZ explores the concerts, venues, media personalities, neighbourhoods, and cultural movements that defined the city’s identity as a global music hub. Each week, Hamilton and Turner revisit iconic moments—from unforgettable nights at Massey Hall and Maple Leaf Gardens, to the rise of Queen Street West, MuchMusic, and CFNY. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and hosted on the Sound Off Podcast Network.
SIGN OFFS:
Gail Scott
Gail Scott, 82, on Nov. 26. Born and raised in Ottawa, Scott earned her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University before spending a year in Paris in 1964 where she studied at the Sorbonne, returning bilingual. After finishing her graduate diploma in Journalism in 1966 at Carleton, she launched her career at CBC Ottawa as the newsroom’s first on-camera woman reporter. By 1969, she had risen to the role of Assignment Editor for both English and French television. In the 1970s, she moved into a role as parliamentary correspondent, first for CBC Radio and then CTV. She went on to join CTV’s W5 as a producer and host, later co-hosting Canada AM from 1978-81, alongside Norm Perry. She left the network in 1982 and joined the School of Broadcast Journalism at Ryerson University, served two terms as a CRTC commissioner, as President of the Michener Award Foundation, and was an independent member of the Canadian Television Fund board of directors. Scott was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Hall of Fame in 2005. She ended her career as one of the longest-serving members on Ontario’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Mike Millar
Mike Millar, 48, on Nov. 24, of cancer. Born in Napanee and raised in Oshawa, Millar earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from Queen’s University, later attending Centennial College’s Book and Magazine Publishing post-graduate program. That led to a career in publishing, working with HarperCollins Canada and Penguin Random House. In addition to freelance communications specialist work, Millar had most recently worked as a Communications Officer with Bell Media and TSN, working across its news, radio and sports properties.
TV & FILM:
The CRTC has ruled that Rogers unjustly removed LGBTQ+ channel OUTtv from its premium pre-assembled TV package while the two were negotiating a new carry rate. Prior to the end of the previous agreement, OUTtv was in Rogers’s Premier television package, which the cable giant stopped marketing in favour of its best pre-assembled package, Ultimate TV. After the carry agreement ended, Rogers removed the channel from the Premier package and, instead of putting it in Ultimate TV, slotted it into two themed ones – Variety and Lifestyle and Entertainment. OUTtv, whose service is required to be offered by BDUs, filed a complaint to the CRTC asking that it find Rogers in violation of the standstill agreement because the companies were in the middle of good-faith negotiations. Read more in our sister publication, CARTT.ca here (paywalled).
Ed Barreveld and Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin will be recognized with the top documentary achievement awards at the 11th annual DOC Institute’s Honours Awards on Dec. 4 in Toronto. Barreveld, CEO of Storyline Entertainment, is this year’s winner of the Luminary Award, while Koostachin, a Cree writer and filmmaker, is being honoured with the Vanguard Award.
Canadian Heritage has announced an investment of $5.2 million for 23 recipients through the Creative Export Canada Program’s Export-Ready Stream. LOFT Entertainment will receive $403,000 to build a partnership with Big Family, a songwriter- and producer-owned publishing label, and management company based in L.A. and London, to help release four label artists’ new musical works in the U.S., UK and Europe. This partnership will be the company’s first foray into publishing and record label operations. The eighth annual cohort of the Export-Ready Stream is also supporting 21 other projects.
Blink49 Studios has signed a two-year first-look producing deal with Belletrist Productions, the company founded by Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss, best known for its work on series like Tell Me Lies (Hulu) and First Kill (Netflix). Under the pact, Blink49 Studios and Belletrist will develop and produce scripted television projects. The companies say the partnership marks a significant step in expanding their respective scripted slates, aligning Belletrist’s taste-driven, literary-forward approach to storytelling with Blink49’s growing production footprint.
CBC/Radio-Canada has announced coverage details for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, March 6–15, in English on CBC and CBC Gem, and in French on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV. CBC’s three live shows daily, include: Petro-Canada Paralympic Winter Games Today hosted by Anastasia Bucsis; Paralympic Winter Games Primetime hosted by three-time Paralympic medallist Stef Reid and Canadian Tire Paralympic Games Tonight also hosted by Reid. Radio-Canada’s coverage will include the daytime show hosted by Geneviève Tardif and Kéven Breton, Milan maintenant. Antoine Deshaies will host late night show Le résumé paralympique.
APTN and APTN Languages will once again air Hockey Night in Canada in Cree and Inuktitut. The season will premiere Saturday, Jan. 10 in Inuktitut with the Vancouver Canucks at the Toronto Maple Leafs, at 7 p.m. ET, while the first game in Plains Cree will air Saturday, March 14 (San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens). Returning with the call are David Ningeongan, Pujjuut Kusugak and Robert Kabvitok for the games in Inuktitut, and Clarence Iron, Earl Wood, John Chabot and Jason Chamakese for the games in Plains Cree. Next-day repeats will air on APTN Languages.
Paramount+ has unveiled a Jan. 22 premiere date for Canada Shore, the first Canadian edition of the global MTV “Shore” phenomenon. Streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in Canada, the U.S., UK, Ireland and Australia, Canada Shore is produced by Insight Productions and was filmed last summer on the shores of Kelowna. Ahead of the premiere, fans can tune in to the all-new MTV Jersey Shore Channel on Pluto TV.
Masterchef Canada has been renewed for Season 9 ahead of the upcoming Season 8 finale on Dec. 16. Judges Mary Berg, Hugh Acheson, and Craig Wong are back for the new season, with production set to begin in Spring 2026. Casting for Season 9 is currently open until Jan. 12.
Corus Entertainment has announced it’s secured a total of 20 sponsorships – more than double the number of sponsors from last year – for its Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas on W Network. This year’s sponsorships include Sephora, Walmart, merci | Storck, Emerald Cruises & Tours, Baileys, Swiss Chalet, Ancestry, KitchenAid, Hello Canola, Nestle | Turtles, Ottawa Tourism, Subway, The Salvation Army, The Brick, Dominion Lending Centres, and Ocean Spray. This year, Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas features 28 movie premieres and six series premieres, available to stream on STACKTV.
CTV News’ annual Toy Mountain campaign is underway, in partnership with The Salvation Army and local charity partners, encouraging donations of new, unwrapped toys for all age groups, with a special emphasis on gifts for infants and toddlers (0-35 months) and pre-teens (9-13 years). Campaigns are taking place at CTV News and iHeartRadio Canada radio stations in communities across Canada, with on-air personalities from each station sharing daily progress updates on donations.
CTV Atlantic gets in the holiday spirit Dec. 6 with the 62nd Annual Christmas Daddies Telethon. The yearly tradition will air on CTV Atlantic, CTVAtlantic.ca, and Crave beginning at 11 a.m. AT, partnering with The Salvation Army to distribute toys, gifts, and food throughout the holiday season. Co-hosting from Halifax are Steve Murphy and Todd Battis, joined by CTV News at Five anchor Maria Panopalis alongside CTV Atlantic personalities Katie Kelly, Kalin Mitchell, Crystal Garrett, Lataevia Beezer, Suzette Belliveau, and reporters Vanessa Wright and Callum Smith. The seven-hour special features performers including Classified, The Barra Macneils, and The Men Of The Deeps.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has unveiled the inaugural cohort of the CJF NextGen Creator-Journalists Training Program. Supported by the Google News Initiative, the program will provide emerging digital-first journalists with mentorship and hands-on training to build sustainable independent media ventures. The initial cohort includes 20 creator-journalists and media organizations, including Rachel Gilmore’s Bubble Pop Media, Toronto publication The Green Line, critical tech podcast Tech Won’t Save Us, non-profit PressProgress, and podcaster Sherley Joseph’s Black Canadian Creators. Read more here.
The National Newspaper Awards are now accepting entries for journalism published in 2025. Entries will be accepted in 24 categories, including a new award for innovation in journalism. Other changes to this year’s awards include newly named Digital Storytelling (replacing Presentation and Design) and Illustrated Commentary (replacing Editorial Cartooning). Local Reporting will also be available for entry by newsroom size, in Small, Medium and Large categories. The contest is open to print or digital publications that publish content at least five days a week.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Janice Johnston
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has launched new awards recognizing late journalists Janice Johnston and Geoffrey Stevens. The Janice Johnston Award for Crime and Justice Reporting is the first CAJ Award named for a woman journalist. It will recognize stories that treat victims of crime with dignity and respect, “built on fair, accurate, rigorous and unflinching original reporting, and that hold the police and legal systems fearlessly to account.” The Geoffrey Stevens Award for Local Government Reporting will recognize journalism that conveys deep knowledge of a municipal government, school board, First Nations band or other institution, uncovering how the body’s decision-making has real-world consequences in the community. Read more here.
Bell Media employees working at its French-language network Noovo have voted 79% in favour of a letter of agreement that now covers newsroom staff under the collective agreement of the Noovo Employees Union-CSN. Last May, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that the 50 Noovo Info employees were indeed covered by the certification. La Fédération nationale des communications et de la culture (FNCC-CSN) brings together 6,000 members working in the fields of communications and culture.
CBC/Radio-Canada has released Q2 financial highlights. Year-to-date, net results for the period saw a gain of $47.0 million and $55.5 million, respectively, compared to a gain of $63.2 million and $59.7 million in the same period last year. Revenue decreased in Q2 by 43.2%, mainly because last year’s results included additional ad revenue from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. That decrease was partially offset by higher ongoing TV and digital advertising revenue, mostly due to increased news engagement. Government funding recognized in income in the quarter decreased by 3.0%, consistent with expected needs due to a 14.5% drop in expenses, as last year’s results included costs associated with Olympic rights and production. That was partially offset by higher operational costs.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
Dielectric DCR-M Antenna Systems | MPR
ADVERTORIAL: As 2025 nears its conclusion, Dielectric shares three FM stories that best exemplify the company’s mission to fulfil increasingly diverse needs for customer responsiveness. That includes a classic disaster recovery scenario in Northern Michigan with Black Diamond Broadcasting and Northern Christian Radio hit hard by a devastating ice storm in April that took down several broadcast towers affecting broadcast operations for both companies. Working closely with broadcast engineer Del Reynolds, Dielectric and SCMS helped to restore operations for WMKC-FM and WPHN, supplying 10-bay ring-style antennas for each station and a combiner for the latter. Read more here.
LISTEN: For more than 80 years, Dielectric has earned its reputation for providing the most sophisticated antenna signal transmission solutions. Keith Pelletier, President of Dielectric, provides an update on how they’re doing it!
WABE has elected a new executive, following its Annual General Meeting this past Tuesday. Moving into the President’s role is Cameron Thomson of Rogers Sports & Media, who previously held the Vice-President’s position. Alex Loewen of Golden West Broadcasting in Altona, MB takes was elected to the VP role, while Howard Chen, formerly of Fairchild TV and now of Bell Media Vancouver, will serve in the Secretary position. Vancouver-based technical consultant Daniel Oong continues in the role of Treasurer. Long-serving volunteers Rob Brown and Past President Tessa Potter move into Chancellor roles. Read more here.
Bell Media and Loblaw Advance have introduced a closed-loop measurement solution for video advertisers, covering linear TV and Connected TV. Announced at the IAB Report on Data in Toronto, the joint offering combines Bell Media inventory and first-party data with point-of-sale insights from Loblaw Advance. Using Environics Analytics privacy-compliant clean room environment, Bell Media’s audience exposure data is matched with purchase data from Loblaw Advance. Advertisers can enhance their media buys by adding an outcomes report, providing a clear connection between campaign exposure and verified purchase behaviour. The service is available now for advertisers buying Bell Media’s Linear TV and select Connected TV inventory and will expand to all Connected TV later this year.
Bell Canada-backed Ateko has acquired SDK Tek Services (SDK), the Calgary-headquartered data engineering and analytics integrator. Bell says the acquisition bolsters Bell AI Fabric by strengthening Ateko’s position as Canada’s only full-stack sovereign AI platform and systems integrator with SDK’s established talent base and market presence in Western Canada to expand Ateko’s national footprint and fuel the growth of new service offerings for enterprise and government customers.