CBC News
The news-gathering and news-production division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
CBC News is the English-language news division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's publicly funded national broadcaster. It gathers, produces, and distributes news for CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, CBC.ca, digital applications, podcasts, social platforms, and other distribution channels. Its output includes national, regional, local, Indigenous, political, business, health, science, technology, arts, sports, weather, and international reporting. The division's institutional roots predate the CBC News name. The CBC's first bilingual radio news bulletin was broadcast in 1936, while the CBC News Service was formally established on January 1, 1941, during the Second World War. Before then, CBC bulletins relied heavily on material supplied by The Canadian Press. CBC News Roundup began in 1943 and was later replaced by The World at Six in 1966. Television news developed after the launch of CBC Television in 1952. The broadcaster introduced CBC National News that year, and the flagship program later became The National in 1970. CBC News expanded from scheduled broadcasts into a multi-platform operation. CBC Newsworld, an English-language cable news channel, began broadcasting in 1989 and was renamed CBC News Network in 2009. CBC news delivery on the internet began through Newsworld Online in 1996, followed by the CBC News Online site in 1998. CBC.ca now provides national, regional, and international reporting together with investigations, explainers, video, audio, podcasts, and live streams. CBC News also distributes content through mobile applications, social networks, voice assistants, and third-party environments such as airline and public-venue systems. Its principal television offerings include The National, CBC News Now, The Fifth Estate, Marketplace, Power & Politics, local newscasts, and other documentary and current-affairs programming. Radio output includes World Report, The World This Hour, The World at Six, The World This Weekend, The House, and regional news updates. CBC News Network provides rolling English-language news coverage from studios and bureaus across Canada, while CBC's international correspondents and satellite operations cover major global events. CBC News is organizationally separate from the CBC's French-language news division, Radio-Canada Info, although the two services frequently cooperate and share the resources of the wider public broadcaster. CBC News is widely regarded as one of Canada's largest news organizations, with national reach and a substantial regional infrastructure. Its public-service mandate gives it a role distinct from commercial television and newspaper competitors, but its editorial choices and perceived political orientation have periodically attracted criticism. Surveys cited in public discussions have found that some Canadians perceive CBC television and radio news as left of centre or more favourable to Liberal perspectives; these perceptions do not by themselves establish a lack of editorial impartiality. The division continues to operate as an active, publicly owned Canadian news service across broadcast and digital media.
History
CBC News developed from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's early radio news operations. The CBC's first bilingual radio report aired on November 2, 1936. On January 1, 1941, the corporation established the CBC News Service, initially relying less exclusively on external wire copy and building a national reporting and editing operation under chief news editor Dan McArthur. Early announcers and readers included Charles Jennings, Lorne Greene, Frank Herbert, and Earl Cameron. CBC News Roundup began in 1943 and became an important national radio news program before being replaced by The World at Six in 1966. Television news began with CBC Newsmagazine on September 8, 1952, broadcast from Toronto station CBLT. CBC National News followed later that year, with Larry Henderson, Earl Cameron, and Stanley Burke among its early anchors. The program adopted the name The National in 1970. Over subsequent decades, the CBC developed a broad schedule of local newscasts, national bulletins, current-affairs programs, documentaries, business reporting, consumer journalism, and political coverage. Programs such as The Fifth Estate and Marketplace became durable parts of the service's investigative and explanatory output. A major structural expansion occurred on July 31, 1989, when CBC Newsworld began broadcasting as an English-language specialty news channel. It originated from regional studios in Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary. The channel was later renamed CBC News Network in 2009 during a wider renewal of the CBC News operation. The network provided rolling coverage while also carrying national programs, political affairs, documentaries, business segments, and regional material. CBC's transition to online news began with Newsworld Online in 1996 and continued with the CBC News Online website in 1998. The digital service expanded into a broad news platform offering regional, national, and international articles, investigations, opinion, video, audio, podcasts, live radio and television streams, mobile applications, and social-media publishing. CBC News content is also made available through voice-activated assistants and selected third-party distribution systems. In 2017, The National was relaunched with a multi-city anchor arrangement involving Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. The format was modified in 2020 and again in the early 2020s. CBC News has maintained a national bureau and local-station model while also operating international bureaus and deploying correspondents when major events require additional reporting. Its news operation has covered Canadian federal politics, provincial and municipal affairs, Indigenous communities, public health, climate and weather, international conflicts, business, culture, and science. A dedicated CBC News Weather Centre was created in 2005, but it was substantially reduced in 2014 during budget pressures. CBC subsequently entered a weather-content partnership with The Weather Network, while local CBC stations retained weather personnel and responsibilities. The division has periodically faced debate about its editorial balance and public-service role. Surveys have reported that portions of the Canadian audience perceive CBC news as more left of centre than commercial competitors, although such perceptions are not proof of systematic bias. CBC News remains an active component of the publicly owned CBC, operating across broadcast, radio, web, mobile, streaming, and social platforms.
- 2022
CBC News Explore launched
[1]CBC introduced a free, advertising-supported streaming news service.
- 2017
The National relaunched with a multi-anchor format
[1]The flagship program adopted a multi-city, multi-anchor presentation structure.
- 2009
CBC Newsworld renamed CBC News Network
[1]The cable news service was rebranded as CBC News Network during a broader CBC News renewal.
- 1998
CBC News Online launched
[1]The dedicated CBC News Online website expanded the organization's digital reporting.
- 1996
CBC news moved online
[1]CBC began online news delivery through the Newsworld Online service.
- 1989
CBC Newsworld launched
[1]CBC launched its English-language specialty news channel, later renamed CBC News Network.
- 1970
CBC National News became The National
[1]The flagship national television newscast adopted the title The National.
- 1952
CBC television news began
[1]CBC Newsmagazine and CBC National News established the corporation's English-language television news presence.
- 1943
CBC News Roundup launched
[1]CBC News Roundup began as a major national radio news program.
- 1941
CBC News Service inaugurated
[1]The CBC formally inaugurated its news service during the Second World War.
Products and positioning
Canadian public-service news with national, regional, local, Indigenous, and international coverage across television, radio, online, and streaming platforms.
Television news · 1952
The National
CBC News's flagship English-language national television newscast. It presents major Canadian and international stories, interviews, analysis, and feature reporting, and has undergone several presentation and anchoring changes since its introduction in 1952.
Cable news network · 1989
CBC News Network
CBC's English-language rolling news channel. It carries live breaking-news coverage, scheduled bulletins, political programming, business and weather information, documentaries, and selected national and regional programs. It began as CBC Newsworld in 1989 and adopted its current name in 2009.
Digital news service · 1998
CBC.ca News
The digital news operation of CBC.ca, offering regional, national, and international reporting alongside investigative journalism, politics, business, Indigenous affairs, science, health, culture, video, audio, live streams, and podcasts.
Radio news
World Report
A major CBC Radio One news program providing morning national and international reporting, together with updates from the CBC's regional news operations.
Radio news · 1966
The World at Six
CBC's national early-evening radio newscast, providing a structured summary of Canadian and international events and serving as a successor to CBC News Roundup.
Streaming news service · 2022
CBC News Explore
A free, advertising-supported streaming service introduced by CBC in 2022. It combines existing CBC news and information programming with original productions such as About That, Planet Wonder, Big, and This Week in Canada.
Investigative journalism
The Fifth Estate
A long-running CBC investigative and current-affairs program known for documentary reporting, interviews, accountability journalism, and investigations into Canadian and international subjects.
Consumer journalism
Marketplace
CBC's consumer-affairs program, covering products, services, business practices, consumer risks, and marketplace regulation through testing, reporting, and explanatory journalism.
Brand decisions
2022
Launch of CBC News ExploreProduct launchBackground
Streaming consumption was becoming an increasingly important route for news and current-affairs audiences.
Action taken
CBC introduced CBC News Explore as a free, advertising-supported streaming service with both existing and original programming.
Aftermath
The service broadened CBC News's digital and connected-device distribution beyond its traditional broadcast channels.
2017
Relaunch of The NationalGeneration changeBackground
CBC sought to refresh its flagship newscast for a fragmented, multi-platform news environment.
Action taken
The National was relaunched with anchors working from Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
Aftermath
The presentation was subsequently revised, first in 2020 and later in the early 2020s, moving toward a simpler single-anchor structure.
2014
Restructuring of weather coverageStrategyBackground
Budget reductions affected the dedicated national weather operation.
Action taken
CBC effectively disbanded its national weather centre while retaining weather presenters at local stations and assigning them broader reporting responsibilities.
Aftermath
CBC later entered a content-sharing arrangement with The Weather Network for national forecasts and some local digital weather content.
2009
Renewal and renaming of the news channelStrategyBackground
CBC undertook a broader renewal of its news division and sought a closer brand relationship between its news channel and other CBC News services.
Action taken
CBC Newsworld was rebranded CBC News Network.
Aftermath
The CBC News name became more consistently associated with the corporation's television, radio, and digital news operations.
1989
Launch of CBC NewsworldProduct launchBackground
The CBC sought to extend its English-language news service beyond scheduled television and radio bulletins through a dedicated specialty channel.
Action taken
It launched CBC Newsworld with operations based in several Canadian regional studios.
Aftermath
The channel became the foundation of CBC News Network, the corporation's continuing English-language rolling-news service.
Recent events
- 2023
CBC News joined the Cyprus Confidential investigation[1]
Other
CBC News collaborated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Paper Trail Media, and dozens of media partners on Cyprus Confidential, an investigation into financial networks associated with Russian political and business interests. The reporting prompted calls for reforms and official inquiries in Cyprus and Europe.
- 2023
The National moved to a single-anchor format[1]
Leadership change · Other
CBC News changed The National from its preceding co-anchor arrangement to a single-anchor daily structure, with Adrienne Arsenault generally associated with weekday editions and Ian Hanomansing with selected later-week editions.
- 2022
CBC launched CBC News Explore[1]
Product launch
CBC introduced CBC News Explore as a free, advertising-supported streaming service combining existing news and information programming with original shows and selected local reporting.
Sources3 sources
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