Al-Jazeera’s English service has launched a bid to air in Canada and will seek approval from the CRTC for cable and satellite carriage, the Qatar-based network has announced. It is the first push by Al-Jazeera English for a spot on Canadian airwaves, though its Arab-language counterpart was okayed amid great controversy in 2004, but in the end distributors refused to pick up the channel.

The network is looking to boost support for its English channel through a website – www.iwantaje.ca – prompting viewers to e-mail requests for the channel to cable and satellite providers. If approved, Al-Jazeera says it will open a Canadian news bureau.

‘Our website receives 22 million visits every month with over 50% coming from North America, and our branded YouTube page is by far the most popular news site on YouTube,’ said AJE managing director Tony Burman in a release. Burman, the former news chief at CBC, joined AJE last year. ‘These numbers alone show how hungry Canadians are for the fearless, groundbreaking reporting that runs daily on AJE.’

Ethnic Channels Group, a small digital broadcaster in Toronto, will present AJE’s application to the CRTC. AJE hopes to be in Canadian homes by the fall. AJE launched in November 2006 and has offices in London, Washington and Kuala Lumpur. It is currently available in more than 100 countries.