Catherine Tait’s tenure as president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada has been renewed for 18 months.

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez announced the news Thursday (June 1) that Tait’s renewed term will end on Jan. 2, 2025. Her current five-year term, which began on July 3, 2018, was set to expire next month.

The Minister said in a statement that her role at the helm of the public broadcaster is critical “given the scope of change with the implementation of the Online Streaming Act and the proposed Online News Act.”

“Catherine has agreed to stay to deliver on several critical files including the CRTC review of the public broadcaster’s licence renewal, the launch of the corporation’s first national Indigenous strategy, along with preparations for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics,” read the statement.

Canadian Heritage will begin an “open, transparent and merit-based selection process” to find CBC/Radio-Canada’s next president and CEO “in due time” to meet the January 2025 deadline.

Tait said in a statement issued Thursday that she will also “focus on the work we have undertaken with other media and stakeholders to address the urgent issues of polarization and distrust, which are undermining democratic and open societies.” She will also continue to serve as chair of the Global Task Force for public media, in which CBC and seven other global public broadcasters are members, according to a news release from CBC/Radio-Canada.

Tait is the first woman to serve as president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. She has spent more than 30 years in the indie film and TV sector, holding positions at organizations such as Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund and DHX Media (now WildBrain). She was a founding partner at Hollywood Suite and founded digital producer iThentic.

“On behalf of the board of directors, I am delighted that our CEO has agreed to extend her time at CBC/Radio-Canada, in order to complete several important initiatives,” said CBC/Radio-Canada chair Michael Goldbloom. “Her leadership over the past five years has been critical to positioning the public broadcaster for the future at a time of accelerated change in the news and media sectors in Canada.”

“We thank the government for its sound decision in extending Catherine Tait’s term as president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada,” said Canadian Media Producers Association president and CEO Reynolds Mastin. “Catherine’s breadth of expertise and deep knowledge of the sector began with firsthand experience as an independent producer in Canada’s vibrant domestic production industry. She has since served as a fearless leader and a vocal champion of Canadian stories.”

Image courtesy of the CMPA

Updated June 2