Canada’s CBC/Radio-Canada has officially joined the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

A vote earlier today at the EBU’s 96th General Assembly in Prague, Czech Republic confirmed the news, which formalizes a long-standing relationship between Europe’s public broadcasters and their Canadian counterpart.

CBC/Radio-Canada has long mirrored European pubcasters in many of its endeavors, goals and strategies, and has been an associate member of the EBU since the body’s founding in 1950.

As a full member, CBC/Radio-Canada will gain access to networks for investigative journalism, verification, digital news and data, along with the Eurovision News Exchange and Euroradio Music Exchange services, the latter of which it will immediately join.

Noel Curran, Director General of the EBU, said: “CBC/Radio-Canada has been part of the EBU family since our foundation in 1950. As one of the world’s leading public broadcasters, it has already contributed hugely to our Union — helping us set and uphold the standards of public service journalism that matter most right now.

“Full membership means we can now do even more together: on platform accountability, on trusted news, on the resilience that public broadcasters need to build for the years ahead. Canada’s voice in this community makes us stronger.”

The decision to allow Canada into the European alliance marks an interesting moment for the EBU, coming after a revision to the body’s framework to open membership to extra-European “broadcasting organizations from countries with a public service media system aligned with core Council of Europe standards and formal observer status with the Council of Europe.”

Marie-Philippe Bouchard, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, added: “Thank you to the European Broadcasting Union for welcoming CBC/Radio-Canada as a Full Member. This new chapter in our relationship with the EBU and its members will deepen our cooperation at a time when the collective impact of public service media is essential. It’s an important milestone that will benefit people on both sides of the Atlantic by helping to combat disinformation and support cultural expression.” 

CBC/Radio-Canada has operated for 90 years, after being launched in 1936 as a radio broadcaster. It now operates across six time zones with services in English and French and eight Indigenous languages: Dëne Sųłıné, Dene Kǝdǝ́, Dene Zhatıé, Eastern Cree, Dinjii Zhuʼ Ginjik, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and Tłı̨chǫ.

The EBU’s membership now spans 115 organizations across 57 countries.