CHFA, from 1982 to 1990

We tend to take French radio in Alberta for granted, but it was a long hard fight to get it here when it was first established in 1949.¹

In 1937, when the Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) first requested a permit to set up a radio station they were refused. It was not until 1943, when the Comité permanent de la survivance française en Amérique decided to lobby for the radio cause. A fundraising project was launched and between 1944 and 1945, $32,000 was raised. At the time, the majority of the members of the Alberta legislature were against a proposed amendment to allow French-language radio in the province despite persuasive arguments in its favour by the Provincial secretary Lucien Maynard. Nonetheless, when an additional $65,000 was raised in 1948, the Canadian Broadcasting Commission finally granted permission, and the privately owned CHFA radio was launched during a live presentation at Edmonton’s Garneau Theatre on 20 November 1949.

The station belonged to the shareholders and directors of the Radio Edmonton Ltéé who were elected by the ACFA. In April of 1974, the station was sold to the Société Radio Canada (SRC), which meant better salaries and security for the employees of the station, as well as better distribution and diversified program content.

Since June 2004, SRC offers both AM and FM radio in the Edmonton and Calgary regions, and AM distribution in various regions of the province. The AM format includes a few hours of local content, morning, noon and night, while the FM station (Espace musique) features classical music, jazz, French song, world music, and new music.