CBC/Radio-Canada’s new CEO, Marie-Philippe Bouchard, is warning that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s pledge to defund the state broadcaster is an “existential threat” to its survival that could “cripple” its programming in both official languages.
Bouchard said that if Poilievre were to slash $1 billion of the organization’s $1.4 billion annual government subsidy, the French services of CBC might not survive even if the English service was eliminated.
“The math just doesn’t work. There’s a serious risk that it would cripple not only the English service but also the French service,” said Bouchard. “So I’m just having difficulty reconciling all of that.”
Bouchard made the comments in an interview on CBC’s The Current. She said she hasn’t spoken to Poilievre yet but welcomes the opportunity.She added that CBC/Radio-Canada could make preparations to be defunded but that such a mandate change would require a parliamentary debate. However, she did say that defunding is an “existential threat” that would fundamentally change the corporation.
“Honestly, at this time, I wish I could reassure or give more detail, but it’s really not in my hands. So we can prepare all sorts of ways, but in the end, it depends on what the decision is,” said Bouchard.
The CBC previously dished out $18.4 million in bonuses for the 2023-24 fiscal year for “performance pay,” following hundreds of employees being laid off and eliminating vacant positions. The bonuses were given to 1,194 CBC/Radio-Canada employees, and $3.3 million of the total pot went to 45 executives, who received an average bonus of $73,000.
Following the bonuses scandal, Poilievre said he “can’t wait to defund the CBC and sell off the headquarters for housing.”
Regarding whether Bouchard plans to take a taxpayer-funded bonus, she said that her compensation results from government rules and her salary conditions are public.
“I’ve just started this job, so the issue of whether or not a bonus is available or should be awarded is not even an issue,” she said.
Former CBC CEO Catherine Tait gave up the reins after being appointed to a five-year term in 2018 that was renewed until Jan. 3, 2025.
Tait left the state broadcaster in a woeful state, given its massive viewership drop-off, major advertisers departing, significant layoffs of its staff, and decline in the public’s support for the CBC. She also faced an ethics violation for violating the Conflict of Interest Act.
Bouchard has worked for the CBC since 1987, when she began as a legal adviser. She has also served as the president and CEO of TV5 Quebec Canada since 2016 and has worked in various management positions at the CBC.
She is the first francophone woman to head CBC/Radio-Canada. Her five-year term began on Jan. 3, 2025.
Bouchard said the chance to work on the expert panel that Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge put together reignited her passion for the state broadcaster.
“I felt that there were a lot of lights going on in my head, that it was too soon for me to walk away,” she said.
Unlike her predecessor Catherine Tait who lives in New York, Bouchard actually lives in Canada, in Quebec.
