News Talk - Talk Radio in Canada

Talk Radio in Canada

In contrast to talk radio stations in the United States, where syndicated programs tend to make up a significant part of most schedules, privately owned Canadian talk radio stations tend to be predominantly local in programming and focus. There is no Canadian content requirement for talk radio, or "spoken word," programming, unless the individual station's license expressly stipulates such a requirement; most do not. (In Canada, prospective radio stations may propose certain restrictions on their license in order to gain favor with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and have an easier time obtaining a license.)

The only nationally syndicated, politically oriented weekday talk radio show in Canada is Adler On Line, hosted by Charles Adler and heard on eleven stations across the country. Until 2006, Peter Warren's Warren on the Weekend was heard Saturdays and Sundays. Both programs are or were distributed by the Corus Radio Network and, coincidentally, both hosts had hosted different morning call-in programs in the same time slot on Winnipeg, Manitoba's CJOB 680 before they became nationally syndicated (Adler's show still originates from CJOB and retained its original title, while Warren was based in Victoria, British Columbia.) Prior to Adler On Line, Corus had syndicated Rutherford, hosted by conservative Dave Rutherford and originating from its Calgary station, QR77. Rutherford is no longer syndicated nationally but continues to air in Calgary, Edmonton, and London.

Other Canadian talk radio programs which have been syndicated to different markets include:

• The George Stroumboulopoulos Show airs on Sunday nights on stations in Toronto and Montreal.
• The Home Discovery Show, a call-in home renovation program hosted by Shell Busey.
• Live Audio Wrestling; a 2 hour show focusing on Mixed Martial Arts and Professional Wrestling, distributed on Fight Network Radio.
• Love and Romance, a relationship advice program hosted by Sue McGarvie.
• Prime Time Sports, a sports talk program hosted by Bob McCown. A three-hour program originating from The Fan 590, usually only the third hour is broadcast nationally.
• Renovations Cross Canada, a weekend program about home renovations hosted by Ren Molnar. It is the most widely distributed talk radio program in Canada.
• The Roy Green Show, a political and entertainment based show hosted by Roy Green that airs on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, primarily on the Corus Radio Network.
• The 'X' Zone, a nightly show about paranormal topics hosted by Rob McConnell. It is also syndicated throughout the United States.

The two largest talk radio networks in Canada are the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English language CBC Radio One and French language Première Chaîne. These stations typically produce their own local morning and afternoon programs and regional noon hour programs to go along with the network programming that is aired during the rest of the day. Both networks are commercial-free. CBC Radio One's flagship national talk program is the weekend Cross Country Checkup, which has been broadcast since 1965.

CFRA (580 AM) in Ottawa (formerly part of the CHUM network, which is now part of CTV) has a large and dedicated listening audience. The station is heard throughout the Ottawa valley and on the Internet. Several key programs focus on local political and world issues. Christina Sgro offers a bit of both worlds on her show, Christina's Corner, which has been gaining popularity since its inception in 2010.

Privately owned talk radio syndication networks in Canada are generally formed for the purposes of sharing programs across a group of stations with common ownership, although some are formed to distribute their one or two talk radio programs to a number of stations regardless of ownership. The largest of these is the Corus Radio Network. TSN Radio, the successor to the long-defunct The Team, is one of the newest national networks in Canada, with operations in three of its major markets, and has room for expansion.

Syndicated programs from the United States which air on Canadian radio stations include:

• Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, arguably the most widely distributed U.S.-based program in Canada
• The Dr. Joy Browne Show
• GameTime React with J. T. the Brick
• The Jim Rome Show

Traditionally, politically driven talk radio from the United States does not air on Canadian stations, with a few scattered exceptions (e.g. the now-defunct CFBN, which carried political programming such as the Glenn Beck Program and Dennis Miller, and the also-discontinued talk format of CHAM, which carried Miller). Top political programs such as The Rush Limbaugh Show are never broadcast in Canada mainly due to high rights fees.