George Grant and Canadian Broadcasting Regulation by Bruce D. Dyck

In 1965, George Grant claimed that Canada had lost its identity, becoming a "branch plant satellite" of the United States (40).  Grant argued that private broadcasters in Canada would make Canadian culture, like the Canadian economy, "redundant" (53), in that it would essentially be a carbon copy of American culture.  While Canada's film and television industries suffered due to inadequate funding and infrastructure during the late-60s and early-70s that made it nearly impossible for them to compete with the slicker, higher budget American-made productions, Canadian radio was not saddled with the enormous costs and direct competition from cross border stations that Canadian television faced, nor the monopolistic film distribution structure that was controlled by the American movie studios (Dorland 117).  However, despite competing on terms that were more favourable to Canadian artists, Canadian radio stations still filled the airwaves with almost exclusively American top 40 music.  In the case of radio, the extent to which Canada had, according to Grant, lost its national identity during the late-sixties and early-seventies, had less to do with American cultural imperialism than a lack of political, economic, and creative initiative by both the government and regulatory boards that allowed station owners to pursue profits at the expense of promoting Canadian content.

Canadian Content: George Grant, the CRTC by Bruce Dyck

In 1965, George Grant claimed that Canada had lost its identity, becoming a "branch plant satellite" of the United States (40).  Grant argued that private broadcasters in Canada would make Canadian culture, like the Canadian economy, "redundant" (53), in that it would essentially be a carbon copy of American culture.  While Canada's film and television industries suffered due to inadequate funding and infrastructure during the late-60s and early-70s that made it nearly impossible for them to compete with the slicker, higher budget American-made productions, Canadian radio was not saddled with the enormous costs and direct competition from cross border stations that Canadian television faced, nor the monopolistic film distribution structure that was controlled by the American movie studios (Dorland 117).  However, despite competing on terms that were more favourable to Canadian artists, Canadian radio stations still filled the airwaves with almost exclusively American top 40 music.  In the case of radio, the extent to which Canada had, according to Grant, lost its national identity during the late-sixties and early-seventies, had less to do with American cultural imperialism than a lack of political, economic, and creative initiative by both the government and regulatory boards that allowed station owners to pursue profits at the expense of promoting Canadian content.