The CRTC on Wednesday issued a call for applications for FM radio stations to serve indigenous communities in Ottawa and Toronto, following First Peoples Radio’s exit from those markets last year.
The commission’s view is there is a need for radio stations to serve the interests of those communities, and its preliminary view is these markets should be served by radio stations operated by and for indigenous peoples.
The CRTC proposes that only one station should be licensed in each of the Ottawa and Toronto markets to serve their indigenous communities to help ensure each station has the greatest opportunity for viability.
The broadcasting regulator notes the frequencies 95.7 MHz in Ottawa and 106.5 MHz in Toronto are now vacant (following the revocation of the licences for First Peoples Radio’s former ELMNT FM stations in those two cities), but any applicant responding to the CRTC’s call for applications may propose the use of an alternative available frequency.
Applicants are expected to demonstrate how their proposed stations will effectively meet the needs of the indigenous communities in the respective markets, including the content and languages of programming to be broadcast, partnerships with indigenous communities, involving those communities in governance and activities of the stations, and support for indigenous artists.
The CRTC says it will conduct an assessment of the potential impact that any radio station proposal it receives may have on the Ottawa and Toronto markets. As such, applicants must demonstrate how their proposed stations would become financially viable and how they would impact the respective radio markets. If the commission determines that licensing any of the proposed stations could have an undue economic impact on either market, or would not adequately serve their indigenous communities, it may decide not to issue any new broadcasting licences, it says.
Applications, which are due by June 18, 2026, will be considered during a future public proceeding, the details of which the CRTC will announce once applications have been received, it says.
