(LifeSiteNews) — Dr. Jordan Peterson has pointed out that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which receives over a billion dollars in taxpayer funds each year, has garnered less than 100 viewers on its last 19 videos, and therefore believes it should be defunded.
In an August 31 post on X, Peterson, a best-selling Canadian author and clinical psychologist, implied that that the CBC is massively overfunded considering its dismal engagement numbers with the public.
“1.4 billion per year: CBC subsidies from @JustinTrudeau,” Peterson wrote. “Not counting paid ads.”
1.4 billion per year: CBC @CBC subsidies from @JustinTrudeau
Not counting paid ads
The last 19 CBC video releases on @YouTube have
<100 views
EachThat’s $14 000 000 per viewer
Let that sink inTake note @PierrePoilievre
Defund the CBC
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) August 31, 2024
“The last 19 CBC video releases on @YouTube have <100 views Each,” he continued. “That’s $14 000 000 per viewer. Let that sink in.”
Peterson further called on Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre to hold to his promise to “Defund the CBC,” if he is elected prime minister.
A screen shot posted on X from the same day as Peterson’s post shows CBC’s latest videos receiving between nine and just under two hundred views.
Wow! You weren’t kidding, Jordan, and it doesn’t get any better as you scroll down their ‘Latest videos’ page. This is brutal, not to mention highly humiliating for a so called ‘mainstream national TV network’. pic.twitter.com/X6BtrGhXU8
— Shaun Rickard (@ShaunRickard67) August 31, 2024
Regardless of their low viewership, the CBC continues to receive massive subsidies from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. Many independent media outlets and Conservative Party politicians, including Poilievre, have accused the outlet of bias and partisanship because of this dependency on government.
Despite these concerns, the Trudeau government has only poured money into the outlet. Beginning in 2019, Parliament changed the Income Tax Act to give yearly rebates of 25 percent for each news employee in cabinet-approved media outlets earning up to $55,000 a year, to a maximum of $13,750.
The Canadian Heritage Department since admitted that the payouts are not sufficient to keep legacy media outlets running, and even recommended that the rebates be doubled to a maximum of $29,750 annually.
Last November, Trudeau again announced increased payouts for legacy media outlets, payouts which coincidence with the lead-up to the 2025 election. The subsidies are expected to cost taxpayers $129 million over the next five years.
Similarily, Trudeau’s 2024 budget outlined $42 million in increased funding for the CBC for 2024-25.
The $42 million to the CBC is in addition to massive media payouts which already make up roughly 70 percent of its operating budget, and total more than $1 billion annually.