Media In Canada

Media in Canada allows international students to learn about Canada before they leave home (and while in Canada) through a range of print, TV and broadcast media. There are over 130 television stations, 2,000 radio stations, and 1,000 daily, community and student newspapers to choose from. As well, a significant proportion of Canada's media is multicultural, including TV and radio programming in over 35 languages and over 250 ethnic newspapers and magazines representing over 40 cultures.

Television
In addition to the public Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Société Radio Canada, which operate English and French television networks, there are four major private TV networks: CTV and Global (broadcast in English) and TVA and TQS (broadcast in French). In addition, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is devoted to First Nations. As well, there are a number of smaller independent local stations.

Ethnic TV channels in Canada include OMNI.1 and OMNI.2 available across Canada via cable systems. They offer programming in more than 30 languages, and Ethnic Channels Group operates another 12 language channels in Canada.

Radio
There are almost 2,000 AM and FM radio stations in Canada. In addition, many Canadian universities and colleges have licensed campus radio, and some communities also have community radio stations.

The CBC operates four national radio networks, two each in English and French. The English Radio One and the French Première Chaine provide news and information programming to most communities in Canada.

Programming for various ethnic groups is provided in over 30 languages by 60 mainstream radio stations.

Click here for live streaming of radio stations--including ethnic and student radio stations--in Canada.

Newspapers
Most Canadian cities are served by at least one daily newspaper, along with free community and neighborhood weeklies. Canada currently has two major "national" newspapers - the Globe and Mail and the National Post. Le Devoir serves as the French-language counterpart to the national newspapers. University and college student newspapers are also common, and you can find ethnic newspapers in Canada published in French, Chinese, Korean, Italian, Polish, Punjabi, Spanish and more.

Check out Canada's post-secondary student newspapers here.

To find newspapers aimed at specific ethnic or religious groups, click here.

Magazines
There are many Canadian magazines that specialize in a variety of topics such as business, Canadian travel, animals and wildlife, literature and recreation. Many provinces have their own regional magazines, and some Canadian cities also have magazines devoted to life and living in that particular city. These city magazines are sometimes free and available alongside the free weekly newspapers. Several dozen ethnic magazines also provide information for international students on living in Canada.

To see a list of ethnic magazines in Canada, click here.