CBC News expands to 22 underserved communities across Canada

In an expansion of local and regional news to better serve more Canadians, CBC News announced that it will hire up to 30 new permanent journalists in 22 communities across the country, including six locations in B.C., one location in the North, nine across the Prairies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, three in Ontario, and one location each in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

With the additional roles, CBC News will increase its footprint from 48 to 66 local stations and bureaus across the country, delivering local news to even more Canadians. As previously announced, this investment follows the CRTC’s approval of Google’s plan to compensate Canadian news organizations for the use of their news content.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to provide underserved news markets across the country with the local journalism they need. These additional roles will ensure that more Canadians have access to crucial information about their community and the world around them, and share significant stories from these communities with national audiences," said Brodie Fenlon, General Manager and Editor in Chief, CBC News.

22 LOCATIONS OF THE NEW JOURNALISTS
• Fraser Valley, B.C.: Serving the communities of Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Mission.
• North Island, B.C.: Joining the existing bureau in Nanaimo to enhance coverage of communities north of the town, including Courtenay, Comox, and Campbell River, as well as extending south to Duncan.
• Interior East, B.C.: Based in Salmon Arm and working closely with existing bureaus in Kelowna and Kamloops to cover municipalities such as Armstrong, Vernon, Sicamous, Revelstoke, and Enderby.
• Peace Region, B.C.: Based in Fort St. John, covering surrounding areas including Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge, Hudson's Hope, and Mackenzie.
• Penticton, B.C.: Based in Penticton and working closely with CBC News’ Kelowna bureau, covering the southern Okanagan region, including Osoyoos and Summerland.
• Sea to Sky, B.C.: Based in Squamish to cover the rapidly growing Sea to Sky corridor, including Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, and the Sunshine Coast.
• North: Based in Yellowknife to travel to underserved communities in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut, including places like Old Crow, Sachs Harbour, and Grise Fiord.
• Red Deer, Alberta: Based in Red Deer to cover Alberta’s third-largest city and surrounding central Alberta communities such as Sylvan Lake and Lacombe.
• Lethbridge, Alberta: Joining the existing Lethbridge bureau to cover communities in southern Alberta, such as Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, and the Crowsnest Pass.
• Fort McMurray, Alberta: Joining the existing bureau in Fort McMurray, a key hub in Canada’s energy industry in northeastern Alberta.
• Hinton/Jasper, Alberta: Covering the national park and the northern Rockies, as well as nearby communities including Grande Cache and Edson.
• Medicine Hat, Alberta: Covering Alberta’s fifth-largest city plus the surrounding First Nations and smaller communities, such as Brooks, Taber, and Bow Island, as well as the region’s thriving agricultural industries.
• Banff, Alberta: Covering the Bow Valley and the national park, including Canmore, Lake Louise and Kananaskis.
• Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: Covering the fast-growing region and surrounding First Nations communities, including Prince Albert, Waskesiu and the Prince Albert National Park area, Emma Lake, Christopher Lake, Candle Lake and La Ronge, and surrounding First Nations communities Beardy’s and Okemasis Cree Nation, Sturgeon Lake First Nation, Wahpeton Dakota Nation, and James Smith Cree Nation.
• Lloydminster / Battlefords (Alberta / Saskatchewan): To cover these two communities in eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan, and providing coverage of communities north to Cold Lake and Meadow Lake, including Onion Lake Cree Nation, Thunderchild First Nation, Red Pheasant Cree Nation, Sweetgrass First Nation, Little Pine First Nation and Poundmaker First Nation.
• Steinbach/ Hanover, Manitoba: Covering the third-largest city in Manitoba. The communities southeast of Winnipeg are the fastest-growing area of Manitoba and include the neighbouring communities of Niverville, Ste. Anne and the wider municipalities of Hanover, Ritchot Springfield, Emerson, Morris, La Broquerie, Taché, De Salaberry, and Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation.
• Oshawa, Ontario: Covering the city and allowing more coverage of communities south of Lake Simcoe and along Highway 401.
• Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario: Covering the city and surrounding area working in collaboration with the station in Sudbury.
• St. Catharines, Ontario: Covering the city and the wider Niagara Region, including communities such as Niagara Falls, Welland, Thorold, Fort Erie and Port Colborne.
• Off-Island Montreal, the Laurentians and Lanaudière, Quebec: To cover stories in the area spanning from Hudson and Saint-Lazare through to Mont-Tremblant and Rawdon.
• Northern New Brunswick: Covering stories from across the north of the province, including Madawaska and the Northwest, Restigouche, Bathurst and the Acadian Peninsula, and Miramichi.
• Cumberland and Colchester Counties, Nova Scotia: Based in these growing counties to cover stories and communities from Amherst to Truro.