TORONTO — It was first suggested by Canada’s equivalent of the FCC right around the Thanksgiving holiday of October 2025, with the launch of a public consultation process to review radio processes. The reason, said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), was “to reduce the regulatory burden on radio stations, while continuing to support Canadian and Indigenous creators.”
Now, 10 1/2 months after the plan was floated, the introduction of indefinite broadcasting licenses for Canadian AM and FM radio stations — erasing the need for a renewal application — has come to fruition.
The October 24 ruling from the CRTC affirms an October 2025 proposal in which the Commission explains that, given it previously reviewed the compliance record of stations at the time of their renewal, it would now conduct regular audits of a licensee’s requirements to more efficiently address non-compliance issues.
Regardless of the type of stations, the CRTC offered seven-year license terms to AMs and FMs in Canada. “The renewal process was a lengthy one, with licensees filing their renewal applications approximately one year before the expiry date of the license,” the CRTC said. “This process was onerous for radio stations and for the Commission.”
As such, the CRTC launched a proceeding to invite comments on its proposal to implement the policy on indefinite terms for radio licenses. “The Commission received a wide range of views in response, including from broadcasters, industry associations, and organizations that represent the interests of official language minority communities and the public interest,” it said on Monday.
Based on the record of the proceeding, the CRTC renewed the licenses for a significant group of radio stations for indefinite terms for the first time. The effective date is when the current license terms expire, and there’s no further process, the Commission confirmed.
Broadcasters and industry associations largely supported the indefinite license proposal, the CRTC said.
A host of options were initially considered but ruled out, including 10-year and 15-year license terms based on a revenue threshold of $2 million CDN. “While the Commission initially considered granting licences for periods between 10 and 20 years, it is of the view that these terms do not offer a real advantage,” it concluded.
