INDEPTH: CANADIAN GOVERNMENT
Appealing to the nation: Prime ministers taking to the airwaves
CBC News Online | January 25, 2006
It doesn't happen often. Canadian prime ministers don't make a habit of taking to the nation's airwaves to make a direct appeal to Canadians.
They've got the power. Under the Broadcasting Act, TV networks and radio stations must make airtime available if the prime minister formally makes the request – in matters of national importance. But a prime minister risks the wrath of Canadians if the demand for time encroaches on the big game or the latest American reality-fest – just so word can get out on the government's latest pet initiative.
In other words, if you're going to mess up my entertainment, it better be worth my while.
Prime Minister Paul Martin reads his address to the nation in his office on Parliament Hill, April 21, 2005. (CP Photo/Tom Hanson) |
Why ask for airtime?
In this case, prime minister Paul Martin didn't make a formal request for airtime – the networks decided to carry it themselves. But traditionally leaders have requested airtime to get out important information when the nation is facing some sort of crisis. It's a chance for the prime minister to make a statement without having it filtered by news reporters.
The PM speaks directly to Canadians and lets them make up their own minds, before those pesky journalists and opposition politicians give their interpretation of what was really said.
How often has a prime minister formally requested airtime?
It's happened a handful of times in the past few decades. The last time was April 21, 2005, when Paul Martin asked for time to appeal to Canadians. Martin outlined what he had done to respond to "the problems in the sponsorship program" and urged Canadians to hold off judging his government until the final report of the Gomery inquiry into the scandal was out. He promised to call an election within 30 days of the release of the final report.
All three opposition leaders were given equal airtime.
The time before that was Oct. 25, 1995, five days before the second Quebec referendum on sovereignty. The polls suggested the vote was going to be uncomfortably close for federalists. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien asked for time under the Broadcasting Act, saying the looming referendum was a matter of national importance.
Chrétien offered equal time to either Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau or Bloc Québécois Leader Lucien Bouchard. Chrétien used his airtime to plead for a united Canada. Some say Chrétien's speech helped the federalist side eke out a victory.
Do the networks have to carry a speech if the prime minister does not invoke the Broadcasting Act?
No. It's a network or independent broadcast outlet's choice to cover a speech if the prime minister does not formally request airtime. There have been several occasions when the prime minister has addressed the nation without invoking the Broadcasting Act.
- Sept. 11, 2001: After the attacks on New York City and Washington, Jean Chrétien urges Canadians to remain calm and pledges that the government will increase security.
- June 23, 1990: As the Meech Lake Accord dies, Brian Mulroney tells Canadians: "There is no dishonour in having tried to overcome a serious threat to our unity. No achievement is possible without great effort and such effort always carries with it the risk of failure," he says.
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- June 4, 1987: Brian Mulroney tells Canadians that after a 19-hour bargaining session, the federal government and the 10 premiers reached consensus on bringing Quebec into the constitution.
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- June 1986: Brian Mulroney, on the eve of free trade talks with the U.S.
- Nov. 15, 1976: Pierre Trudeau addresses the nation as the Parti Québécois sweeps to power in Quebec.
Have there been other instances when the prime minister has formally asked for time?
On June 6, 1944, William Lyon Mackenzie King took to the airwaves (back then it was just radio) to talk about the D-Day invasion and how it would mark the turning point in the Second World War.
» Listen to his speech
Twenty-four years later, on Feb. 20, 1968, Lester B. Pearson acted more like an American president when he asked for airtime. He wanted to address the nation on his government's decision to seek a confidence vote instead of calling an election after unexpectedly losing a key vote on the budget. After the speech, Pearson managed to get a motion passed that indicated the defeat of the tax bill was not a vote of non-confidence in the government.
Why is 'taking to the airwaves' more common in the United States?
It speaks to the differences between our systems of government. U.S. presidents don't have a seat in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. They can't make their case for their agendas directly to lawmakers on the floor of Congress.
Presidents sometimes resort to televised speeches to go over the heads of Congress and seek support from the electorate. Ronald Reagan brought back the "fireside chats" of the Franklin Roosevelt era when he established his weekly Saturday radio broadcasts.
Several U.S. presidents have also taken to the airwaves when their popularity has tumbled. Bill Clinton did so while battling for his job over the Monica Lewinsky affair. Richard Nixon addressed Americans fairly frequently during the Watergate scandal.
President George W. Bush has done it several times, as has British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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