The CBC is under attack!

Pierre Poilievre, the newly minted Conservative Party leader, has made it clear that he is enemy number one of our cherished national public broadcaster. His campaign and political appeals are riddled with battle cries of “Defund the CBC”, and he is showing no signs of backing down. He’s got the CBC in his crosshairs and, if he becomes Prime Minister, he will pull the trigger.

We need you to join the fight to stop him.

The CBC was created to be the nation’s public square – a place where we come together, to learn about each other, to share our tragedies and triumphs, our struggles, and our histories. For over 80 years, the CBC has entertained, informed and enlightened Canadians by proudly placing Canadian stories and perspectives front and centre.

And the CBC is consistently there for Canadians when they need it the most. You’ve no doubt seen and heard how the CBC filled an important role during Hurricane Fiona. In the absence of other news outlets, the CBC kept their radio broadcast on air and created “CBC Lite” so that East Coast citizens could get the most critical information on limited internet access.

All this is at risk if we do not fight back against Poilievre.

Between now and the next election, FRIENDS will mount a campaign to do just that. And we’ve had lots of practice:

• In 1995 when Prime Minister Jean Chrétien made massive cuts to the CBC, FRIENDS responded with the “Keep the Promise” campaign and the Liberals increased CBC funding in their 1998 budget.
• In 2015, after years of Stephen Harper cuts to the CBC, our “We Vote CBC” campaign convinced the Liberals, the NDP and the Green Party to support the CBC in their campaign platforms. Trudeau defeated Harper and kept his promise to restore funding to the CBC
• In 2021, our nationwide advocacy campaign helped convince Erin O’Toole, former leader of the Conservative Party, to change his “Defund the CBC” tune at election time.

Our work needs to happen now, not during the next election and certainly not after.

With your help we can conduct leading-edge research and polling. We can engage in targeted advocacy work and direct electoral engagement. We can raise awareness and educate Canadians so they understand that Poilievre’s threats to defund the CBC are not harmless cries for reform, but menacing calls to destroy our nation’s public broadcaster. It’s up to FRIENDS to stop Poillievre – the same way we stopped Stephen Harper and every other leader who has targeted the CBC.
 

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