Despite the CBC’s budget woes, or possibly because of them, Hubert Lacroix has been renewed as the president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada for a second five-year term.

“Despite economic downturns and industry shake-ups, we are well on the way to achieving the goals set out in our strategy. Planning for the next five years starts today,” Lacroix said in a statement after heritage minister James Moore announced his reappointment on Friday.

Lacroix was first appointed CBC/Radio Canada president and CEO in 2008, for a five year term.

His reappointment was rumoured as likely as the pubcaster continued to absorb recent government cutbacks and prepares for license renewal hearings in November for its radio and TV licences in English- and French-speaking Canada.

Lacroix said the cornerstone of his strategy for CBC/Radio Canada is a five-year plan unveiled in 2010 that helps deal with $115 million in budget cuts over three years that have been imposed by Ottawa, and the impact on pubcaster ad revenue from the current NHL lockout and its disruption to Hockey Night in Canada.

“In 2010, CBC/Radio-Canada started the process of building the public broadcaster of the future. We call the first phase Strategy 2015: Everyone, Every way. I see my reappointment as an endorsement of our strategic direction, which calls for the public broadcaster to become more distinctly Canadian in its national programming, more present in all regions of the country and to act as a catalyst for the digital transformation of the media landscape,” Lacroix said in his statement Friday.