The Impact of the British Broadcasting Corporation on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: Gladstone Murray, Special Committees on Radio Broadcasting, and the Canadian Radio League

Canadian radio broadcasting started as a purely local, independent, and commercial system without networks. The debate about the role of a public service network similar to that of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Britain did not start in earnest until 1928. The influence of American commercial broadcasting was always present, especially for listeners close to the border within reception range, particularly at night. While other nations adopted public broadcasting such as the United Kingdom, Australia, The Netherlands, South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Spain, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Albania, Hungary, and Bolivia, Canada did not seriously consider it as an option until 1928 with the establishment of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting (MacLennan, Citation2022). The impact of the BBC came in phases with the help of Gladstone Murray, the Special Committees on Radio Broadcasting, and the Canadian Radio League.

Commercial broadcasting licenses were first issued in 1922 without the benefit of any network system in the same fashion that commercial licenses were distributed in the United States. Canada ranked eighth in the world as early and frequent purchasers of radio receiving sets, exceeding most European countries (Figure 1). The delay in the establishment of a public service model of broadcasting did not reflect a lack of enthusiasm for radio broadcasting. Wedged between its past as a colony in the British Empire and a neighbor to the North of the United States, the Canadian broadcasting system eventually took on the properties of a dual system. Dual broadcasting systems were in fact rare in the early decades of broadcasting. Australia made a deliberate and early decision to adopt dual broadcasting in 1924. Japan also developed two systems but only after the Second World War (Griffen-Foley, Citation2004; MacLennan, Citation2022). The Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting recommended a changeover to a fully public service model, however, the firmly established commercial broadcasters persisted and an unintentional dual system came to be, sometimes described as hybrid (Raboy, Citation1990; Vipond, Citation1992). The campaign for a Canadian national network of radio stations coincided with the shift of radio frequencies in 1928 in North America, the establishment of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, and the efforts of the newly formed Canadian Radio League that ultimately supported Gladstone Murray as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s first General Manager to create a direct link to the BBC.

Figure 1 Receiving Sets per 1000 Population 1929.

Source: Batson (Citation1929). The Extent of the Development of Radio over the World. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 142(1_suppl), 21-31; Canada. Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting (Citation1929). Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting. Ottawa: King’s Printer; Sterling and Kittross (Citation1990). Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American Broadcasting. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

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As noted in the chart above the data largely derived from Batson’s (Citation1929) study, the extent of the development of radio over the world varied. Radio’s per capita, geographic space, political, and cultural considerations were among the factors that made it possible to adopt a public and/or a commercial broadcasting system. While a public system may have been desirable along the model of the BBC, these factors made it less feasible, particularly since Canada delayed until the Great Depression to move toward public expenditure on public broadcasting.

Experimental broadcasting was permitted immediately after the First World War and these early stations fostered the growth of established independent Canadian stations in the 1920s (Godfrey, Citation1982; Kozak, Citation2016; Pagé, Citation1997). Early Canadian broadcasting was local and independent; the cost of establishing a national network was prohibitive for a small population across a vast expanse of land. British people made up 55.4% in 1921 and 51.9% in 1931 of the Canadian population making British programming a culturally familiar option for a substantial portion of the population (Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Citation1924, Citation1933). Most of the Canadian population lived close enough to the border, however, to be able to listen to American radio stations, especially after sunset. This exposure to American radio programming intensified by the end of the 1920s: when four Canadian stations in Montreal and Toronto became American affiliate stations in the NBC and CBS networks, poor reception, cancellation of broadcasting licenses, the American Radio Act of 1927, the American General Order 40 in 1928, and the lobbyist action of the newly formed Canadian Radio League became the catalysts for the Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting (Citation1929) known as the Aird Report (MacLennan, Citation2018). The indirect result was the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932, forming the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, subsequently replaced in 1936 by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the wake of the First World War, a groundswell of nationalist sentiment was emerging in Canada (Vipond, Citation1977, Citation1980). One of the focal points with regard to nationalism and radio was Canada’s Diamond Jubilee in 1927 when a broadcast was arranged connecting radio stations across the country by telephone (Charland, Citation1986; Cupido, Citation2010; Gasher, Citation1998; Graham, Citation2009; Kuffert, Citation2016; Langham, Citation1979; MacLennan, Citation2001). The imagined sense of one country celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in a radio program endorsed by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King reinforced the idea of Canada as a country through radio. Although the Canadian government did establish a Canadian national public network at the point when experimental stations became commercial stations as was the case in nations such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, this new sense of nation immediately preceded the consideration of the idea of a national network. The Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting was appointed in 1928 and assigned the task of investigating the possibility of a national network in Canada. Its report produced on September 11, 1929, was controversial because it recommended the establishment of a public national network that would replace commercial broadcasting in Canada (Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1929).

This Commission appointed by the Liberal government of Mackenzie King in December 1928 cleared the way for new legislation, thus work commenced on the bill that would ultimately become the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932 under Prime Minister Richard B. Bennett to be replaced by the Act to amend the Canadian Broadcasting Act in 1936 under the new government of Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King (MacLennan, Citation2018; Raboy, Citation1990). Chaired by Sir John Aird, president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the Aird Commission was responsible for examining the broadcasting situation in Canada as well as broadcasting systems in other countries, making recommendations to the Canadian government in the national interests of Canadian listeners and the nation “as to the future administration, management, control and financing thereof” (Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1929, p. 2). The Aird Report’s key finding centered on the necessity for the creation of a publicly owned national broadcaster, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), much like the BBC established in 1927:

The Report’s thirteen recommendations made provisos for a national network characterized as public service broadcasting. It was designed to have provincial directors and a board of twelve members. A network of high-power radio stations would be built across the country, provincial service would be provided, and private broadcasters would be compensated. The new company would be known as the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC). If it were to appropriate commercial broadcasters’ equipment, expenditures would come from license fees, rental time, and a subsidy from the Dominion Government. Chain broadcasting would be permitted, only indirect advertising would be permitted, other content regulations were specified with regard to religious and political broadcasting, and finally the CRBC would remain within the jurisdiction of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, particularly with regard to reception (Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1929). The report additionally noted the exceptional organization of broadcasting in Great Britain under the BBC as well as in Germany, where public ownership, control, and operation of radio was implemented (Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1929, p. 5).

Following the release of the 1929 Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, during the Great Depression and a new Conservative government under R. B. Bennett, Alan Plaunt and Graham Spry formed the Canadian Radio League in October 1930. With the help of John Dafoe, editor of The Winnipeg Free Press, Graham Spry was able to win a Rhodes Scholarship, which put him in contact with other Canadians at Oxford University, UK, such as the future prime minister, Lester B. Pearson. Spry expanded on his work about Canadian identity at Oxford when he returned to Canada. While studying at Oxford, Spry grew acutely aware of his love for Canada, realizing that many brilliant Canadians choose to stay abroad upon leaving the country. Thus, returning to Canada in 1926 after earning a second bachelor’s degree in history from Oxford in 1924, Spry joined the Association of Canadian Clubs as national secretary and increased his network of important Canadian contacts. Simultaneously, Spry served as an executive member of the League of Nations Society in Canada while developing and editing the League’s journal, Independence (Babe, Citation2000, p. 40).

Plaunt was not a Rhodes scholar himself, although he developed connections with notable Canadian Rhodes Scholars such as Spry during his time at Oxford (Nolan, Citation1983, p. 44). Upon arriving at Oxford, Plaunt was exposed to the nationalization of British broadcasting with the development of the BBC, ultimately leading Plaunt to adopt a similar perspective on how public broadcasting and government intervention should be structured and implemented in Canada (Nolan, Citation1983, pp. 52–53).

While the Canadian Radio League did not blindly accept of all the recommendations in the Aird Report, Spry and Plaunt advanced the goal of transforming the Canadian broadcasting system in a pragmatic manner. The Canadian Radio League would accept a mix of private and public broadcasters as well as the dissemination of American content, so long as the promotion of educational, cultural, and national programming was guaranteed (MacLennan, Citation2001, p. 29). In April 1931, Spry articulated the issue faced by Canadian broadcasting: “What is the issue? It is this: shall the radio be subordinated to narrowly advertising purposes, or shall the Canadian people through their responsible instruments of government ensure that the fullest potentialities of this agency of communication be developed to serve the broadest Canadian purposes?” (Bird, Citation1988, p. 64).

Their campaign for Canadian public broadcasting persisted until the CRBC was established and beyond with their campaign to install Gladstone Murray as the General Manager of the newly formed Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1936. As a witness for the 1932 Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, Spry summarized nine recommendations that the Canadian Radio League advocated for: Canadian operation and ownership of radio stations; government regulation and control of the broadcasting system; competition and commercial enterprise in radio programs; increased revenue for greater and improved Canadian programming; Canadian radio coverage, improved reception, and fewer and larger radio stations; the continuation of commercially sponsored programming but the elimination of direct program advertising; the utilization of broadcasting as a nation-building tool, not only a vessel for entertainment; the preservation of the language and culture of Québec via radio programming; and the safeguarding of Canadian interests (Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1932, p. 42).

A key figure in the creation of the CRBC and CBC was Gladstone Murray, who became General Manager of the CBC in 1936. Gladstone, a Canadian who worked previously for the BBC as its Director of Publicity from 1924 to 1935, became an acting controller and soon after an assistant controller in the Programme Division of the BBC in 1935 until his resignation in March 1936. He was able to act as a conduit of BBC’s model of public service broadcasting in Canada.

At the urging of Plaunt, Prime Minister Bennett invited Murray to survey Canadian radio broadcasting. Murray’s work in Canada began in 1932 on a secondment from the BBC, when, as he recounted, he was “invited by the Prime Minister to consider organization and policy, to make interim recommendations on matters of immediate urgency, and to prepare later a more detailed survey” entitled, “National radio in Canada: A survey” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 1). On May 11, Murray’s Interim Report was the subject of rigorous debate in the House of Commons, and Murray asserted that this report “resulted in the passing of Bill No. 99 amending the Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 1). In his survey, Murray highlighted his foundational role in guiding the eventual development of the CBC: “This was in no sense a comprehensive amending measure, but it did enable the Commission to develop policy and work, for the time being, in the right direction” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 1). Murray was also an expert witness before the Commission (B.C. man may head Radio Corporation, Citation1936, p. 20).

Murray described his responsibility as largely dedicated to fostering a Canadian broadcasting system that was reflective of the needs and desires of the Canadian public:

Alongside Gladstone Murray as a witness in 1932 in the Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, Spry testified for public broadcasting to foster a stronger sense of Canadian identity and advance national interests:

Gladstone Murray advanced a similar argument to Spry, using the case of the BBC in Britain as evidence for public broadcasting as a public good. In Gladstone’s first presentations in 1932 he used the term public broadcasting to be consistent with the Aird Report and not aggressively gesture toward the practices of the BBC, just the parallels. Hon. Mr. Euler, Liberal Member of Parliament challenged him directly on this point:

Gladstone Murray thus focused his mission in Canada on harboring both political and public support for the case of developing a national public broadcaster, while understanding that Canada is a distinct nation from Britain. Gladstone’s tone was very conciliatory, always allowing for the differences between Canada and Britain and making claims of his own knowledge as a Canadian. In a newspaper article from Owen Sound, Ontario, Murray is quoted as saying, “I have too much knowledge of my own country, Canada....to suggest that it should adopt a copy of the British or any other broadcasting service. Conditions here are so different that the B.B.C could not be copied even if that were desirable” (Urges public ownership of broadcasting, Citation1933, p. 12). Murray expanded upon this position in his survey, contrasting the conditions and circumstances in Britain to those in Canada. Murray explained that much unlike Canada, where the initiative for public broadcasting was taken on by the Government, the prospect of public service broadcasting in Britain was put forth by the private sector (Murray, Citation1933, p. 3).

Still, Murray championed the perspective that despite their differential situations, public service broadcasting would benefit the Dominion of Canada as much as it had benefitted Britain, optimistically suggesting that a unified Canada would be the result of having a national public broadcaster:

Murray’s interim report was presented a week before the passage of the Act representing the last stage of the debate about the introduction of public broadcasting. At this point, when he was invited to complete a survey and report in the House of Commons, Murray was always conciliatory, allowing for challenges to the proposed Act, particularly for private stations. Murray explained, “During the past four years private stations have suffered a good deal from a sense of insecurity and uncertainty about their future. It is important for the Commission to give every encouragement and help to those private stations whose continued operation is approved” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 11).

In 1932, under the government of R. B. Bennett, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act established the CRBC, reflecting a set of compromises with the vision of the Aird Report and the Canadian Radio League to establish a government-owned and operated broadcasting system. Bennett described this compromise in a speech in support of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act on May 18, 1932:

When Gladstone Murray supported a public service model was when his views most closely mirrored the BBC’s policy and practice. The BBC was not emulated directly through the rebroadcasts of BBC programmes; rather it was almost exclusively through the idea of public service that the CBC emulated the BBC. Broadcasts of the King’s Christmas wishes and the chronicling of the Royal Tour in 1939 were the clearest indicators of a British connection in CBC programming. In one House of Commons debate over the Radio Broadcasting Act, Minister of Marine Honorable Alfred Duranleau for the riding of Chambly-Verchères detailed the overwhelming success of the Empire Christmas Broadcast:

Hon. Duranleau praised Major Gladstone Murray for his efforts in advising the Radio Commission, “I cannot add much to the Interim report of Major Gladstone Murray, except to say that I hope hon. members opposite who are criticizing the radio commission at the present time will not deny that the commission is attempting to give the best service possible to the country” (Dominion of Canada, Citation1933, p. 4870).

Hence, the Minister of Marine from 1930 to 1935 and the Acting Minister of Fisheries from 1932 to 1934 that regulated radio, Hon. Alfred Duranleau supported Gladstone Murray, however, this support was disputed when his report was attacked. Opposition Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre, Ian Alistair Mackenzie, argued,

Criticism about the Act and public service broadcasting appeared in newspapers across Canada. It must be noted that many of the newspapers owned private commercial radio stations and the plans suggested by the Aird Report represented a threat to their operations. In the case of the Edmonton Journal that owned the radio station CJCA, the newspaper was quick to report huge opposition to the Radio Commission and Major Gladstone Murray, noting,

This account of the debate in the House of Commons criticizing Murray and the plans for the Act demonstrated the resistance to public broadcasting, Gladstone Murray, and the Act under debate in House. Newspapers helped to shape the debate and public opinion on the upcoming changes and the fact that so many Canadian commercial broadcasting stations were owned and operated by newspapers ensured a lively debate in the press.

Gladstone Murray was eager to encourage the connection between the BBC and CBC, but the costs (Potter, Citation2012) and the early establishment of distinctly Canadian and American programming did not easily permit for the growth of a BBC-inspired system. Murray provided the most consistent, ongoing connection and support for the integration of more BBC programming in Canada. He defended against allegations that the BBC distributed programming of undesirable high-brow culture. Above all, Murray defended the BBC’s programming as inherently serving public opinion, taste, and utility, arguing that if it was not so the BBC would be fundamentally unsuccessful in its philosophy (Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1932, p. 302).

Additionally, Murray advised the Commission to avoid originating excess chain programs unless they were of excellent quality and varied in scope. Instead, he recommended the Commission sponsor economically sustainable programs produced by private Canadian stations. In the same vein, Murray emphasized the BBC’s desire to relay quality Canadian programs in the United Kingdom and across the Empire (Murray, Citation1933, p. 9). His dream that Canadian programs would be broadcast by the BBC was somewhat ambitious. In fact, Ashcroft’s CKGW was more successful, broadcasting Canadian programs over the NBC network as an affiliate station in the network (MacLennan, Citation2001).

Aware of Canada’s unique national circumstances, in his 1933 survey, Murray acknowledged Canada’s existing broadcasting structure—distributing radio licenses—describing this as an “exceptional advantage” over the broadcasting system in the United States (Murray, Citation1933, p. 23). The United States relied exclusively on commercial revenue and at a disadvantage in sustaining successful programming, according to Murray. In Canada, license revenue offered a steady income and subsequently greater freedom in program scheduling. Murray, therefore, perceived the addition of a national public broadcaster as a substantial benefit to reinforce national identity, stability, and interests (Murray, Citation1933, p. 23). In putting forth his remedial recommendations to the Canadian government, Murray articulated his primary objective as “implement[ing] the widespread desire of the Canadian people for an effective broadcasting service, but also establish[ing] for that service general political support” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 2). Murray also realized the challenge of garnering political support in a nation with geopolitical and cultural tensions, thus claiming it needed to be informed “consistently and intelligently” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 12). He argued, “Provinces will be jealous of their rights; the West will be alert to Eastern bias; Ontario will be vigilant against the undue influence of Québec; French Canada will be anxious to avoid the submergence of its language; the Maritime Provinces, Prairie Provinces and British Columbia likewise will be watchful of their rights and interests” (Murray, Citation1933, p. 12). In response to Murray’s survey, Mr. G. A. Grier is quoted in the news: “‘He tried,’ said Mr. Greer [sic], ‘to put radio in Canada back on a nonpolitical basis’. ‘He failed’” (Company control of radio urged at commons probe, Citation1934, p. 2).

On September 23, 1936, Gladstone Murray was recommended for appointment as General Manager of the CBC by the newly formed Board of Governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Hon. Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice and acting Prime Minister at Ottawa made the public announcement (General Manager of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and His Family, Citation1936, p. 4; Opportunity for service to Canada, Citation1936, p. 1). In fact, Murray dreamed of making the CBC a world-class broadcaster. As he began his position as General Manager, he remarked, “‘Here we have a smaller population, more widely scattered and with a diversity of race. In my opinion the racial divisions of Canada will make a richer culture’” (Hopes to Make Canadian Radio Best in World, Citation1936, p. 19). One newspaper wrote, “Major Murray said it was a thrill for him to be called to do ‘a tremendous job of work,’ and hoped ‘we shall be able to make Canadian radio the best in the world’” (Hopes to Make Canadian Radio Best in World, Citation1936, p. 19). It is when Gladstone Murray became General Manager of the CBC that he began his endeavor in earnest to emulate aspects of the BBC’s public broadcasting system and ideas of quality programming. It is at this time when Gladstone Murray became a direct channel for BBC-style empire broadcasting in the Canadian broadcasting system (Potter, Citation2012). With the British public service model closely impacting Canadian broadcasting, “[s]ide by side, Canada [was] developing commercial and government-operated radio systems after years of agitation and numerous parliamentary as well as nation-wide Royal Commission investigations as to which system is better suited for the Dominion” (Montagnes, Citation1937, p. 63). However, the structure of the BBC was impossible to directly imitate in Canada:

Len Kuffert echoes this statement, remarking, “At times the British way looked marvelous and worthy of imitation, and at others, it seemed unsuited to Canadian broadcasting” (Kuffert, Citation2016, p. 73). These challenges were present throughout Gladstone’s time at the CBC. The long delay in creating public service broadcasting did not allow for wholesale changes.

In Gladstone Murray’s latter years as general manager of the CBC, he became more deliberate in planning the BBC’s impact on the CBC. This resulted in a noteworthy degree of criticism from the opposition reported in newspapers. Echoing similar optimistic sentiments in March of 1937, Murray gave a speech in Montreal on the CBC’s dedication to promoting bilingualism. In the House of Commons, Murray came under fire, with R. B. Bennett, Leader of the Opposition, declaring that “if Major Murray was not speaking with authority of the government ‘he should certainly be dismissed without any further delay’” (Bennett scores radio manager, Citation1937, p. 1). The claims at hand involved Murray’s speech at the Canadian Club of Montreal on March 22, wherein he allegedly referred to English and French as Canada’s “parent languages,” explaining that Canada must be prepared, dedicated, and anxious to validate the heritage of both languages, and that the CBC was “pledged to make Canada bilingual” (Mr Gladstone Murray: Canadian attacks, Citation1937, p. 13). Prime Minister Mackenzie King then confirmed that the Canadian government never authorized Murray’s alleged remarks (Mr Gladstone Murray: Canadian attacks, Citation1937, p. 13).

Furthermore, in a column by J. Butterfield in The Daily Province located in Vancouver, BC, Major Murray was described as “an idealist … a person with beautiful and true ideas that may never be realized” (Butterfield, Citation1937, p. 4). Murray was given this label under the justification that “he has forecast that there will come a time when the discerning listener will choose his programme weeks ahead and shape his conceptions of other countries upon what he hears,” Butterfield arguing that “the average man doesn’t want to make conceptions, not even of the American scene” (Butterfield, Citation1937, p. 4). With regard to Canadian news programming, Butterfield wrote, “I have never heard anything more feeble in my life. It is badly announced; it has very little news value to Canadians, and is altogether valueless. One night, it had seven minor items of United States news, one British and one Canadian. Private enterprise could do a lot better than that” (Butterfield, Citation1937, p. 4). Murray responded to Butterfield’s criticisms, saying that “upon his forthcoming trip west he hopes to convince [Butterfield] and the public that there is not even a ‘remote’ possibility of those conditions being reproduced in Canada” (Butterfield, Citation1937, p. 4). The editor of the newspaper, The Albertan, further criticized Murray amidst protests over an increase in radio fees, declaring that, Murray, as the General Manager of the CBC, “has betrayed his trust to the people of this Dominion,” suggesting that Murray resign as “there can be no further trust in him, who, so readily would sell us out to the newspaper and magazine publishers” (Protests increase in radio fees, Citation1938, p. 4). With the same level of dedication, however, into 1939, Murray continued to call for the Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting to legislate a progressive long-term broadcasting policy, which would serve public interests over commercial ones, to sustain radio programs including talks, discussions, round tables, forums, and Canadian orchestras and music (Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, Citation1939, p. 142).

Years after he gave up his position in 1942, Gladstone Murray’s impact on the CBC was praised by colleagues including J. Frank Willis, originally from CHNS and then the CBC; Rex Lambert, originally from the BBC and then the CBC; Ernest Bushnell, the CBC general program supervisor; Mary Grannan, from CBC radio and television; Jack Radford, from the CRBC and CBC; Charles Jennings, a CBC journalist; and Reid Forsey, from the CBC alongside audio clips of Murray himself. Murray was remembered as dedicated to the development of the CBC in the interests of the Canadian public: “In those early days of the CBC, Gladstone Murray spent a good amount of time traveling from province to province, recruiting talent, meeting staff, and getting acquainted with people expressing a special interest in broadcasting” (Boyle, Citation1967). The tribute recounted, “It is a fact that Murray’s enthusiasm, at times, a reckless enthusiasm” in tandem with his “extraordinary gift of leadership, created in the incredibly short time of two years and ten months” the CBC, a broadcasting organization that would soon need to manage “the enormous workload and great public responsibilities that would fall on it with the outbreak of war” (Boyle, Citation1967). Murray was credited as “principally responsible” for the CBC’s role in World War Two, as “the CBC, in those troubled and anxious times, was able to deliver to the Canadian public a balanced program service second to none in the world” (Boyle, Citation1967). The tribute highlighted, “During this period, the new CBC general manager was interested in developing a rapport with Canadian listeners as well as his staff. He broadcasts frequently on CBC radio to answer criticisms and acknowledge advice.” Yet the tribute also noted how Murray was “less successful in winning over parliament” as “his outspoken manner irritated many an MP” in a political environment marked by “political interference and constant parliamentary nagging” (Boyle, Citation1967). Murray’s work was ultimately described as “a struggle against political bureaucracy” (Boyle, Citation1967).

Major Gladstone Murray’s work as General Manager of the CBC allowed him to act as the direct conduit to the BBC and British broadcasting. The inability to access BBC programs readily, as Canadian broadcasters could with some American programs, represented a long-standing barrier to the adoption of the public service broadcasting, modeled after the BBC. Gladstone Murray’s arrival at the CBC as General Manager did not equal momentous change and a complete adoption of the BBC-style of broadcasting, but it did represent a turning point when the BBC public service model impacted the CBC and Canadian broadcasting.