The Origins of Public Broadcasting in Canada in Comparative Perspectives

One persistent element in the received version of Canadian cultural and economic history is the symbiotic relationship in which national identity and state economic activity are seen to exist. On the one hand, a large measure of state participation has been regarded as an important distinguishing feature of Canadain capitalism. On the other, the willingness of Canadians to accept such participation is said to be a product of their desire to preserve a distinct identity, to survive independently on the North American continent. Nowhere is the belief in this interconnection more evident than in studies of Canadian broadcasting policy.