CKUA Radio Launches Letter Campaign to Pressure Funds

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After a successful listener-based fundraiser, Alberta's CKUA Radio is launching a letter-writing campaign to pressure the federal government for more funding.

During a 13-day spring fundraiser last month, nearly 7,000 donors gave $1.8 million to help keep the lights on for one of Canada's oldest and first public broadcasters, based in Edmonton.

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Before this fundraiser began, CKUA was faced with economic pressures forcing it to turn to its listeners, hoping to raise $3 million by September to stay off the air.

Listeners have been active, but now the historic broadcaster is looking to Ottawa for coverage. The station is once again appealing to its supporters to write letters to MPs and federal ministers.

“It's time to use our collective voice to let the decision makers and influencers in Ottawa know what CKUA means to each of us, especially to you as a proud Canadian,” said station CEO Mark Carnes. “What CKUA is asking the federal government to do is to right the wrongs of history, get us out of the Great Storm and invest in another century of service to Canadians. CKUA is not looking for a handout – we are looking for justice.”

Much of the station's financial woes lie in its building, Edmonton's historic Alberta Hotel, which is the riding seat of Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonneau. The station's purchase of the building in 2012 involved cultural funding from the City of Edmonton, the Government of Alberta and the federal government.

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The city and province provided $5 million each — while the station waited for matching funding from Ottawa — while the federal government provided only $500,000, forcing CKUA to take out an “unexpected and unbudgeted” $6 million loan.

“These loan balance losses over the past 18 months are a significant part of CKUA's current financial pressures,” the station said in a press release Thursday. “This is why the province of Alberta is not providing financial support to CKUA today when its existence is at stake. The province of Alberta is not servicing the debt.”

CKUA attributes the station's current debt to Ottawa's “lack of funding,” which is why the letter campaign is aimed at the federal government.

Both the Alberta government and Ottawa have pointed the finger at each other, each citing a lack of funding for the station in their latest budgets.

CKUA says draft letters and contact information are available on its website.

[email protected]

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