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101-451: The network was first established in 1987 as La Chaîne TVO , a spin-off of the provincial English-language public broadcaster TVO , later re-branding as TFO in 1997. The network operated under the auspices of TVO until 2007, when it was spun off into an autonomous agency. TFO is available on multichannel television providers throughout Ontario; all cable and IPTV providers in the province are required to carry it on their basic tier. TFO

202-543: A ban on partisan government advertising. On May 18, 2004, Provincial Finance Minister Greg Sorbara released the McGuinty government's first budget, the first year of a four-year plan focused on tackling four deficits the Liberals claim the previous Tories left behind: the "health deficit", the "education deficit", the "infrastructure deficit" and the "fiscal deficit". This budget was focused on health care. At its core

303-539: A campaign to narrow the so-called "$ 23 billion gap" between what Ontario contributes to the federal government and what is returned to Ontario in services. This came as a sharp turn after more than a year of cooperating with the federal government. McGuinty said special deals made by the federal government with other provinces ( Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia ) compromised the nature of equalization . He noted that immigrants in Ontario receive $ 800 in support from

404-603: A carriage fee, which other over-the-air services do not receive. However, the CRTC denied its application in March 2000. That year Jacques Bensimon, co-founder of the network and managing director of the network since 1986 (before it became its own channel), resigned from the position. Over his tenure, he formed relationships between TFO and French-language networks in Europe, in order to share content. This included co-producing content with

505-797: A dedicated francophone educational television service were the National Capital Region and the Ottawa Valley , which were served by Radio-Québec outlet CIVO-TV in Hull . In 1986, the new network received its broadcast licence from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). On January 1, 1987, this network was officially launched by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority under

606-585: A few electoral districts. The scandal caused the Liberals to be reduced to a minority government . McGuinty continued as premier for another year and a half, but the continuing gas plant issue refused to go away. He prorogued the legislature in October 2012 before being succeeded as Liberal leader and premier by Kathleen Wynne in February 2013. McGuinty resigned his own seat in June 2013. Shortly after leaving

707-435: A four-year plan to tackle the deficit, funding for 1,000 new teachers, a transfer of two cents of the existing gas tax to municipalities to help fund transit, and a three per cent increase to those on social assistance, the first increase in ten years. Soon after the federal election, McGuinty attended a First Ministers' Meeting on health-care reform that resulted in a new agreement for a national health accord. This Accord saw

808-456: A law degree and practiced law in Ottawa. His father served as a Liberal member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1987 until his death in 1990. A provincial election was called for later that year and McGuinty successfully ran in his father's seat, though the incumbent Liberal government was defeated. After party leader Lyn McLeod resigned due to her leading the Liberals to a second defeat in

909-502: A major issue in the early days of the 2004 federal election , called a week after the Ontario budget. Many believe that the controversy hampered Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin 's bid for re-election . Also controversial was the elimination of coverage for health services not covered by the Canada Health Act including eye examinations and physical therapy. Other elements of the McGuinty government's first budget were

1010-457: A number of controversies involving the governing PC Party, including the fallout over the shooting death of native protester Dudley George at Ipperwash , the deaths of seven people from tainted water in Walkerton , and the decision to provide tax credits to parents who sent their children to private schools. Harris resigned in 2001 and his successor, Ernie Eves , received a short boost in

1111-407: A number of initiatives in the fall of 2004. These included legislation allowing restaurant patrons to bring their own wine, banning junk food in public schools, outlawing smoking in public places, and requiring students to stay in school until age 18. Following a series of high-profile maulings by pit bulls , the government also moved to ban the dogs. Some Ontarians were critical of this issue since it

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1212-523: A press release which described McGuinty as an " evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet ". Eves later stated that this was obviously meant as a joke, but acknowledged its inappropriateness. McGuinty undertook a series of choreographed events, including signing a taxpayer protection pledge not to raise taxes. He appeared on the popular sports show "Off the Record", where he received an endorsement from Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm . McGuinty

1313-656: A promise to balance the budget in 2007–08. The government instead aimed at balance in 2008–09. The McGuinty Liberals also moved to expand infrastructure spending by encouraging Ontario's large pension plans to invest in the construction of new roads, schools and hospitals. Specific projects in the budget included a 10-year expansion of the Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit , 15,000 new affordable housing units and improved border crossings. NDP leader Howard Hampton described this move as "privatization by stealth". During their second year in office,

1414-570: A radiated power of 423,000 watts video and 84,600 watts audio. Its studio facilities were located at 1670 Bayview Avenue (a five-storey office building that is still standing) and its 550 feet (170 m) transmitter antenna was located at 354 Jarvis Street on the CBC tower. In 1972, the station moved its operations to a new studio facility at 2180 Yonge Street in the Canada Square Complex , where it remains. The station's broadcast name

1515-616: A result, the only cable and satellite customers outside Ontario that can still view TVO are on the Quebec side of the Ottawa – Gatineau market. It is unknown if the dispute or carriage restrictions also apply to the few cable systems in the United States that carry TVO. Channel still on the air as a full-time repeater of another station. Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. OOnt (born July 19, 1955)

1616-554: A right-leaning leader like McGuinty was necessary to compete against the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) of Premier Mike Harris . McGuinty's first term in opposition was difficult. The governing Progressive Conservatives played up McGuinty's low profile by defining him as "not up to the job" in a series of television advertisements. His internal management of the Liberal Party

1717-407: A scandal developed around a new plan to update health care records called eHealth Ontario . Just prior to the 2011 election, another controversy developed when McGuinty's government cancelled gas plants that were located in key Liberal ridings and were widely opposed by the local residents. The cost to cancel the projects was close to $ 1 billion and the move was seen as pandering to the electorate in

1818-537: A separate but similar network for Franco-Ontarian audiences. Before the launch of TFO, TVO aired French-language programming on Sundays. Even after TFO's launch, TVO and TFO swapped programming on Sundays well into the 1990s. TFO was separated from TVO and was incorporated under the newly formed GroupeMédia TFO , a separate Crown corporation of the Government of Ontario, in 2007. In 2017 and 2018, TVO launched four regional "hubs", featuring journalism on issues in

1919-534: A surprisingly difficult re-election in Ottawa South, before defeating his Conservative opponent by about 3,000 votes. During McGuinty's second term as opposition leader, he hired a more skilled group of advisors and drafted former cabinet minister Greg Sorbara as party president. McGuinty also rebuilt the party's fundraising operation, launching the Ontario Liberal Fund. In preparation for

2020-432: Is Canada's largest producer and distributor of French-language educational products. From 1989 to 2012, TFO operated several over-the-air transmitters in predominantly francophone areas of Eastern and Northern Ontario. These transmitters had the callsign CHLF-TV , followed by a number to denote their status as rebroadcasters. Besides Sudbury , Hawkesbury , Temiskaming Shores and Pembroke , TFO otherwise transmitted over

2121-961: Is TVOntario. Channel 19 in Toronto, channel XX in (city/town/region)." In August 2010, TVO began broadcasting in high-definition via a direct-to-cable HD feed. TVO commenced over-the-air HD broadcasting in August 2011, in compliance with the CRTC regulations. Except for Belleville, Chatham and Cloyne, TVO's transmitters are located within mandatory markets for conversion. Not all digital transmitters are currently broadcasting in high definition. The Belleville, Chatham and Cloyne transmitters were converted to digital on new frequencies (but without high-definition, an on-channel program guide or other DTV-specific features), as channels 52 to 69 were being reallocated for wireless communication purposes. The conversion of these transmitters took place before TVO's announcement to close down its analogue transmitter network outside

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2222-471: Is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier. In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election . McGuinty was born in Ottawa . He studied science at university, but ended up taking

2323-717: Is aired in English or in another language with English subtitles. French-language programs were previously shown on Sundays, from noon until sign-off, for the benefit of Franco-Ontarian viewers. The establishment of French counterpart network TFO led to the discontinuation of French-language programming on TVO by the mid-1990s. Earlier in TVO's history, all dramatic programming was required to have some educational content. Therefore actors, journalists or writers were hired to provide commentary on shows aired by TVO that would place them within an educational context. For instance, Tom Grattan's War

2424-557: Is also carried nationally on the Bell Satellite TV and Shaw Direct satellite television services. The network previously broadcast over-the-air in some communities in Eastern and Northern Ontario with significant Franco-Ontarian populations; these transmitters ceased operations in 2012. When TVO (then known as TVOntario) launched in 1970, it aired French-language programming on Sundays from noon until sign-off. By

2525-779: Is also responsible for over-the-air broadcasts of the Ontario Legislative Assembly in some remote Northern Ontario communities that do not receive cable television access to the Ontario Parliament Network . In 2002, the Ministry of Education transferred responsibility for the Independent Learning Centre —the agency which provides distance education at the elementary and secondary school level—to TVO. TVO used to operate TFO ( Télévision française de l'Ontario ),

2626-480: Is carried on Bell Satellite TV channel 265, and on Shaw Direct channel 155. The main transmitter in Toronto uses the call sign CICA-DT , with its rebroadcasters using CICO-DT followed by a number to denote their status as rebroadcasters. Many analogue transmitters used CICA-TV and CICO-TV callsigns, in addition to CICE-TV , until the shutdown of TVO's remaining analogue transmitters on July 31, 2012. TVO's transmitters are primarily located in Ontario, with

2727-651: Is integrated into its web programming, which includes mobile applications designed for child development. TFO also produces reality television shows featuring kids, including the Amazing Race style series Les Jumelles where local kids compete against each other in teams of two. Cartoons broadcast on TFO include: TFO also broadcasts the news and culture show TFO 360 , hosted by Linda Godin, who has also moderated debates between national party leaders in Canada. Plein les Vues serves as TFO's entertainment news show. On

2828-436: Is no longer the case as the broadcaster shuttered the majority of its analogue transmitters except those located in some mandatory markets, which were converted to digital in 2011 (see " Technical information " below). TVO is carried on all cable systems serving Ontario (the alternative choice for those viewers in area that has been served by one of the service's defunct analogue transmitters). On satellite systems in Ontario, it

2929-648: Is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority ( OECA ), a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario , which since 2022 has done business as the TVO Media Education Group (or TVO.me ). TVO.me also operates TVO Today, TVO ILC , TVO Learn, and TVOKids . TVO is governed by a volunteer board of directors , and supported by a network of regional councillors from across

3030-466: The 1995 election , McGuinty was elected leader in the 1996 leadership election . McGuinty lost the 1999 election to Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris , but won a resounding majority in 2003 . From 2003 to 2007, McGuinty's government increased spending for health care and education. He won another majority in 2007 , though his second term was deeply affected by the 2008 financial crisis , which saw government revenues plummet. In addition,

3131-403: The 2003 election , the party adopted a platform that emphasized lowering class sizes in schools, hiring more nurses, increasing environmental protections, and "holding the line" on taxes. McGuinty also made an effort to improve his debating skills and received coaching from Scott Reid who also trained United States Senator John McCain . McGuinty's chances of forming government were improved by

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3232-705: The BBC , France 2 and Channel 4 in the UK. As part of a restructuring of TVO announced by the McGuinty government on June 29, 2006, TFO was taken over by a new, separate provincial Crown corporation , the Ontario French-Language Educational Communications Authority ( Office des télécommunications éducatives de langue française de l’Ontario or OTÉLFO ) in 2007, with separate management and its own budget. Although

3333-508: The Canadian province of Ontario . It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toronto , which also relays programming across portions of Ontario through eight rebroadcast stations . All pay television ( cable , satellite , IPTV ) providers throughout Ontario are required to carry TVO on their basic tier, and programming can be streamed for free online within Canada. TVO

3434-551: The Ontario New Democratic Party , and now hoped to defeat the governing Conservatives by strategic voting . The Progressive Conservative Party was re-elected, and McGuinty rallied his party in the election's closing days to draw 40% of the popular vote for the Liberals, their second-best performance in fifty years, which increased their seat total in the Legislature from 30 to 36. McGuinty himself faced

3535-483: The University of Ottawa before practicing law in Ottawa. Since 1980, he has been married to high school girlfriend Terri McGuinty, an elementary school teacher . The couple have one daughter and three sons. McGuinty's father, Dalton Sr., served as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Ottawa South until his death in 1990. Dalton Jr. won the Liberal Party's nomination for his father's former riding for

3636-554: The provincial election of 1990 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario . The Liberal government of David Peterson was defeated by the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) in that election. In opposition, McGuinty served as the Liberal Party's critic for energy, environment and colleges and universities. He was re-elected in Ottawa South in the 1995 provincial election without much difficulty. The Liberals maintained their status as

3737-553: The 1980s, the provincial government concluded that a separate francophone educational network was needed to prevent the "ghettoization" of the Franco-Ontarian community. In 1985, the Ontario Ministry of Municipal and Cultural Affairs, together with Communications Canada, approved the creation of an Ontario-based French-language educational television network. At the time, the only portions of Ontario with access to

3838-460: The 600 MHz band between 2019 and 2020 as part of the related spectrum pack . On April 17, 2020, the CRTC granted TVO permission to decrease its Chatham transmitter's maximum effective radiated power (ERP) from 2,250 to 1,000 watts. Even though this would reduce over-the-air access to viewers in the Chatham area, the CRTC approved TVO's request so that it could "reduce the costs associated with

3939-575: The CICA callsign was derived from the last two letters in the OECA acronym . CBC operated the CICA transmitter, while the OECA was in charge of programming. OECA assumed all operations of the station, independent of the CBC, when the provincial government declared the Authority an independent corporation in a 1973 Order-in-Council. CICA signed on the air on September 27, 1970, on UHF channel 19 operating at

4040-472: The CRTC. In many cases, TVO rebroadcasters were operating from CBC-owned transmitter sites and were shut down along with the CBC's analogue transmitters. Where TVO owned sites, it provided local communities the option of taking ownership of the towers and transmitters. On June 6, 2012, TVO dropped its signal from cable and satellite providers outside Ontario, due to a carriage dispute over compensation for distributing its signal to its subscribers outside

4141-760: The Danish political drama Borgen and the British police procedural New Tricks . TVO's first original drama series was Hard Rock Medical , a medical drama set in Sudbury, which aired from 2013 to 2018. Public affairs programming includes the flagship daily current affairs show The Agenda and an overnight rebroadcast of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's Question Period from the Ontario Parliament Network. All TVO programming

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4242-594: The Legislature back for a rare winter session to debate and pass several high-profile bills. The government legislated a "greenbelt" around Toronto . The size of Prince Edward Island, the Greenbelt protects a broad swath of land from development and preserves forests and farmland. In response to court decisions, the McGuinty Liberals updated legislation to reflect the change in the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples. McGuinty also launched

4343-427: The Legislature back in session in late 2003. The government brought in auto insurance reforms (including a price cap), rolled-back a series of corporate and personal tax cuts that had been scheduled for 2004, passed legislation that enshrined publicly funded healthcare into provincial law, hired more meat and water inspectors, opened up the provincially owned electricity companies to Freedom of Information laws and enacted

4444-469: The Liberals imposed a controversial new Health Premium of $ 300 to $ 900, staggered according to income. This violated a key Liberal campaign pledge not to raise taxes, and gave the government an early reputation for breaking promises. The Liberals defended the premium by arguing that the previous government had a hidden deficit, and McGuinty claimed he needed to break his campaign pledge on taxation to fulfill his promises on other fronts. His own finance critic of

4545-403: The McGuinty Liberals brought forward a series of negotiations with the province's unions. First, Health Minister George Smitherman concluded an agreement with the province's doctors that included incentives to practice in family health teams or under-serviced communities. Education Minister Gerard Kennedy established a province-wide negotiating framework with the province's teachers' unions with

4646-833: The McGuinty government of breaking its promise to cap classroom sizes. Kennedy responded that some flexibility is always necessary, and that any reasonable person would regard a 90–95% success rate as a promise kept. Also in June 2005, two cabinet ministers in McGuinty's government were scrutinized for alleged improprieties. Joseph Cordiano faced calls for his resignation after revelations that he billed $ 17,000 for personal expenses to his riding association. These expenses included meals in Paris and Milan , and theatre tickets in London . Cordiano insisted that these expenses were related to riding activities, and refused to resign. McGuinty defended Cordiano in public, claiming he had "complete confidence" in

4747-407: The McGuinty government put forward a throne speech in October reiterating their priorities of health, education and economic prosperity. The speech outlined plans to offer the first money-back guarantee on a public service: a refund for people who do not receive a birth certificate within 15 days of applying on-line. On November 18, 2005, it was announced that Ontario's Drive Clean emissions program

4848-465: The Movies continued to follow this format long after the requirement was dropped because of the popularity of its host, Elwy Yost . TVO is Canada's oldest educational television service. It established the country's first UHF television station in 1970, based in Toronto. TVO used to have the largest over-the-air coverage in Ontario, reaching 98.5% of the province with 216 transmitters ; however this

4949-653: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCPP) had erred in including his name in the search warrant. In striking Sorbara's name from the warrant, Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Ontario Superior Court said there were inadequate grounds for police to include him in the first place. The judge was particularly scathing in his review of the RCMP probe of Sorbara. On May 23, 2006, Sorbara was reinstated as Minister of Finance, while Duncan returned to

5050-603: The Sorbara Group offices — owned by Greg Sorbara and his brothers — as part of the ongoing Royal Group Technologies investigation. The warrant stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe Sorbara and other directors of Royal Group defrauded the company and shareholders when they bought land in Brampton, that was owned by a subsidiary of the Sorbara Group. Sorbara initially resisted opposition calls for him to step down, then resigned as Minister of Finance

5151-503: The United States (in fact, various TVO productions wound up being aired on PBS stations). This model was later emulated by provincial educational broadcasters Télé-Québec in Quebec and Knowledge Network in British Columbia. The majority of TVO's funding is provided by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Education, which provides $ 39 million annually, with additional funding provided by charitable donations. TVO

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5252-512: The air mainly in isolated portions of Northern Ontario without access to cable. As part of the transfer of TFO to its own management in 2007, the transmitters in Sultan , Oba and Jogues were taken out of service. On July 31, 2012, TFO shut down its transmitters in Sudbury, Hawkesbury, Pembroke and Lac-Sainte-Thérèse , as TVO, which owned the towers, was shutting down and decommissioning all its analog transmitters on that day. As of December 2012,

5353-462: The broadcaster's LPB2 service. The partnership is designed to appeal to Louisiana's strong French heritage and French immersion programs. At its launch in 1987, the channel's programming schedule included both original programming produced by the network, such as the educational comedy series 17, rue Laurier , the health series La santé contagieuse and the newsmagazine series M.E.M.O. , and acquired programming from both Quebec and France, such as

5454-565: The children's series Passe-Partout and L'île aux enfants and the talk show Apostrophes . It also aired a francophone dub of the 1970s English Canadian children's series Matt and Jenny , under the title La route de l'amitié . GroupeMédia TFO broadcasts educational and cultural content for all of its audiences (children, youth, and adults). Programs that TFO produces include Mini TFO (for pre-school children), Mégallô (for children ages 9 to 12), RelieF (a political, social, and cultural program aired live Monday through Thursday),

5555-446: The decision, including the group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting , said that the changes would affect people who have no other options for accessing content. TVO formally applied to the CRTC on January 25, 2017, to remove its eight transmitters outside Toronto from service. In response to feedback from the towns and cities affected by the planned shutdown, as well as TVO donors and other groups, TVO reversed its decision to shut down

5656-625: The elementary and secondary school level, and for GED testing, was transferred from the Ministry of Education to TVO. The positions of Chair of the Board and CEO were divided in 2005 TVO airs a mixture of original children's programming, documentaries, scripted dramas, and public affairs programs. Children's programming is aired daily during a daytime television block branded as TVOKids , with general-audience programming airing during prime time and overnight hours for adult viewers. Scripted dramas are typically foreign imports, past selections include

5757-452: The federal government, while those in Quebec receive $ 3,800. Premier McGuinty and Prime Minister Paul Martin debated the Ontario government's accusations throughout the spring of 2005. McGuinty and Martin finally met in May and, following a nine-hour meeting, McGuinty received a commitment for $ 5.75 billion, spread out over five years, including new money for immigrant settlement, training for

5858-599: The first decade of La Chaîne's operations, TVO's existing practice of broadcasting in French on Sundays continued, and La Chaîne aired English-language programming during the same time block. This was because La Chaîne was only available on cable at first, and the government wanted to ensure that Franco-Ontarian viewers without cable still had access to a block of French-language programming while making English TVO programs available on La Chaîne for those who wanted them. As transmitters were added in several French-speaking communities,

5959-406: The legislature, he was named a senior fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs . McGuinty was born in Ottawa , Ontario. His parents are politician and professor Dalton McGuinty Sr. and full-time nurse Elizabeth (Pexton) McGuinty. The son of a Francophone mother and an Anglophone father, McGuinty is bilingual . McGuinty is the second Roman Catholic to hold

6060-469: The licence transfer was not officially approved by the CRTC until June 28, 2007, TFO nonetheless announced its autonomy from TVO effective April 1. GroupeMédia TFO is funded mainly by the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Education, with an annual budget of $ 31 million. Additional contributions have been made by the Government of Manitoba since the channel was added to cable services in that province in 2010. In 2010, then TFO CEO Claudette Paquin

6161-497: The mandatory markets. Download coordinates as: On January 25, 2017, TVO announced it would be shutting down eight of its nine remaining transmitters (a mere 5½ years after converting them to digital), leaving only CICA-DT at Toronto's CN Tower in operation to maintain their current license. CEO Lisa de Wilde announced that shutting down the transmitters would save the broadcaster an estimated $ 1 million per year, but would also lay off seven transmitter maintenance jobs. Critics of

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6262-571: The minister. At around the same time, Minister of Transportation Harinder Takhar was accused of a conflict-of-interest, after visiting a company that he owned in a blind trust. Takhar acknowledged that he made "an error in judgement", but denied any wrongdoing. Both Cordiano and Takhar were retained in their portfolios following a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005. The matter was sent to the provincial ethics commissioner, who on January 4, 2006, ruled that Takhar had violated Ontario's integrity guidelines by not maintaining an arms length relationship with

6363-452: The music of Francophone Canadians. Other music programming includes the series Behind the Scenes , which shows the backstage, studio, and other parts of the music industry generally hidden from the public eye. TFO also broadcasts the singing competition reality show JAM . Mini TFO provides YouTube channels for young children, receiving 25 million views between its launch and October 2014 -

6464-549: The name La Chaîne TVO (primarily known on-air as La Chaîne ). In 1997, La Chaîne was renamed TFO (short for Télévision française de l'Ontario ). The company would remain a part of TVO until 2007 when it was transferred to the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority, a separate crown corporation. It is the only French-language television broadcaster in Canada headquartered outside Quebec. For

6565-533: The official opposition amid a provincial swing from the NDP to the Progressive Conservatives. McGuinty's supporters in his 1996 leadership bid included John Manley , Murray Elston , and Bob Chiarelli . He was elected leader at the party's convention December in a surprise victory over front-runner Gerard Kennedy . Kennedy, a former head of Toronto 's Daily Bread food bank , was popular on

6666-542: The only exception being its Ottawa transmitter, CICO-DT-24, which is based at Camp Fortune in Chelsea, Quebec . There, it shares its site with its Quebec counterpart, Télé-Québec, and with most of the region's television and FM radio signals. From the 1970s through the 1990s, TVO ran top-of-the-hour bumpers where an announcer would mention the channel allocation of the service's flagship station in Toronto, along with an allocation for one of its rebroadcast transmitters: "This

6767-646: The polls from his attempts to move the PC Party to the centre. The 2003 North America blackout gave Eves increased exposure and rallied some support for his party. He called an election immediately after the blackout, and polling showed that the previous Liberal lead had narrowed to a tie in the first week. The rise in Tory support was short-lived. The Liberals took a commanding lead in the campaign's second week, and remained in that position until election day. The Progressive Conservative government accidentally distributed

6868-477: The practice was discontinued in the mid-1990s. In addition to being carried throughout Ontario on cable and via over-the-air transmitters in some communities, in October 1997 TFO began broadcasting in New Brunswick via select cable companies in that province. New Brunswick was the first jurisdiction other than Ontario where TFO was offered. TFO would later be broadcast into parts of Quebec as well. In 1998,

6969-514: The premiership. His father is Irish , and his mother is English and French Canadian . His maternal grandfather immigrated to Canada from England . He has nine brothers and sisters. His younger brother David has represented the riding of Ottawa South in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. He is an alumnus of St. Patrick's High School in Ottawa, earning a B.Sc. in biology from McMaster University . He then earned his LL.B from

7070-451: The progressive wing of the party, while McGuinty built his core support on its establishment and pro-business right-wing. McGuinty was fourth on the first and second ballots, closely behind Dwight Duncan . He then overtook Duncan and Joe Cordiano on the third and fourth ballots, respectively, receiving the support of their delegates to win on the fifth ballot over Kennedy. Critics called McGuinty "Harris Lite", but his supporters argued that

7171-480: The province's finances. Peters revealed that the out-going Progressive Conservative government had left a hidden deficit of at least $ 5.6 billion. The Conservatives questioned Peters' methodology, and suggested that the McGuinty government was overstating the province's financial difficulties to break or delay some of its campaign spending promises. McGuinty took office as Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs on October 23, 2003. The new government called

7272-411: The province, provided that we're fairly compensated. Since cable or satellite distributors receive subscriber revenues driven by having TVO as part of their offering, we feel it's reasonable to be compensated. Unfortunately, we could not come to an agreement with Bell to compensate TVO for carrying our signal outside of Ontario, and the decision was made to cease offering our signal outside of Ontario." As

7373-716: The province. TVO also reports to the Ontario legislature through the Minister of Education , in accordance with the Ontario Educational Communications Authority Act. Instead of following the model of the federally owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)'s television services, which shows commercial advertisements, TVO chose a commercial-free model similar to the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) in

7474-414: The province. The network reached an agreement with Vidéotron , and then entered negotiations with Shaw Communications and Telus , but failed to reach an agreement with Bell Canada . TVO cited that: "...we believe that we have a responsibility to earn revenues from the sale of our service outside of our home province. TVO is willing to consent to cable and satellite distributors carrying our signal outside

7575-546: The provinces receive new federal funding in exchange for providing reports on such things as waiting times for surgeries. McGuinty's government ended the year by releasing "Progress Report 2004: Getting Results for Ontario". This work focused on health, education, and economic growth, and set targets to achieve before the next election (including reducing the high school drop out rate, increasing participation in post-secondary education and reducing wait times for specific medical procedures). The McGuinty government brought forward

7676-572: The required channel change by re-using its existing antenna" as part of Canada's 600 MHz spectrum repack. TVO announced it would make the change as of May 1, 2020. TVO similarly reduced the ERP of its other retransmitters required to move out of the 600 MHz band. On July 31, 2012, TVO permanently shut down its remaining 114 analogue transmitters (14 full-power and 100 low-power) without converting them to digital; these were in areas of Ontario not considered "mandatory markets" for digital conversion by

7777-691: The result that most school boards settled their contracts without lost teaching time. Finally, Management Board Chair Gerry Phillips closed a deal with the provincial government's own civil service union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union . On June 22, 2005, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy announced that 90–95% of Ontario students between junior kindergarten and Grade Three would be in classes of twenty students or fewer by 2007. He also acknowledged that extenuating circumstances may require slightly larger classes in some cases. Opposition critic Frank Klees accused

7878-507: The same day. He consistently denied any knowledge of the specific allegations against him, and sued the RCMP to either clarify their case against him or withdraw their investigation. Following Sorbara's resignation, Dwight Duncan was appointed as Minister of Finance and Chair of the Management Board. Donna Cansfield took over Duncan's responsibility as Minister of Energy and Jim Bradley as Government House Leader. The next day,

7979-637: The second most views of any children's channel in the world. TFO has also focused on mobile broadcasting, developing several apps for children's use. Other apps are developed to provide parents with a rating and research mechanism when deciding between programming and apps developed for child viewers or educational use - such as EduLulu. In 2013 Mini TFO also opened the Mini TFO Centre for Early Childhood Education at Collège Boréal . The channel also sponsors live tours of its affiliated acts, specifically in remote areas of Ontario. Children's programming on TFO

8080-666: The sitcom Météo+ , and Ruby TFO, a Web/TV magazine for women. TFO's prime time programming includes documentaries and dramatic series, along with unique French-language film programming, including feature-length art films and films from around the world. CinéTFO is the network's nightly showing of French-language cinema. BRBR is another music show, featuring reviews, interviews, and performances from French-speaking artists. The concerts take place in downtown Toronto and Montreal in front of live crowds. The show has been nominated for several Gemini Awards . In October 2013 BRBR teamed with Deezer to launch an online radio station dedicated to

8181-420: The station began broadcasting nationally via both national satellite companies, Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice, now known as Bell Satellite TV and Shaw Direct , respectively. In August 2008, Star Choice removed TFO from its lineup. In 1999, TFO's parent company at the time, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority, applied to the CRTC for mandatory carriage of TFO in the province of Quebec, in addition to

8282-452: The station no longer has any over-the-air transmitters as evidenced by the disappearance from Industry Canada's TV spectrum database of TFO's over-the-air transmitters. Channel still on the air as a full-time repeater of another station. TVO TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo ), formerly known as TVOntario , is a Canadian publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving

8383-634: The time, Gerry Phillips , had predicted that the Tories' projected balanced budget would in fact result in a $ 5 billion deficit in a meeting of the Standing Committee of Estimates of the Legislature on June 3, 2003. Liberal MPP Monte Kwinter also predicted a $ 5 billion deficit. As a result, the Liberals dropped badly in polls and McGuinty fell behind Ernie Eves in the category of preferred premier. The Ontario Health Premium also became

8484-485: The transmitters on February 17, 2017. According to TVO, the Government of Ontario agreed to increase TVO's annual funding by $ 1 million to offset the amount that would have been saved by shutting down the transmitters. On March 1, 2017, TVO formally withdrew its CRTC application to delete its eight retransmitters from its licence. In April 2017, ISED required TVO to move its newly-digital retransmitters serving Belleville, Chatham, Cloyne, Kitchener, and Windsor from out of

8585-556: The trustee appointed to run his blind trust. McGuinty has defended his minister, and has rejected calls to remove him from cabinet, even after the Integrity Commissioner issued his finding. In the same cabinet shuffle, Premier McGuinty withdrew from the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio and became the province's first Minister of Research and Innovation . On October 11, 2005, police raided

8686-484: The unemployed, federal delivery of meat inspection and corporate tax collection and per capita funding for post-secondary education. In late April 2005, McGuinty announced the closure of the Lakeview coal-fired generating station, one of Ontario's largest polluters. Although the McGuinty government had promised to close all coal-burning plants by 2007, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced on June 14, 2005, that this

8787-542: The various regions of Ontario, on its website. Hubs are currently based in Thunder Bay for the Northwestern Ontario region, Sudbury for Northeastern Ontario , Kingston for Eastern Ontario , and London for Southwestern Ontario . In 2019, the service also launched an Indigenous hub to cover First Nations issues throughout the province. The Ontario Educational Communications Authority (OECA)

8888-415: The web, it runs SOS Devoirs , a series of web properties designed to help children with their homework used by 90,000 students each year. The TFO website also provides curriculum support, pedagogical guides, and 4,000 different educational programs (1600 available for free). TFO itself has training programs to teach educators how to use video materials in the classroom, attended by 2,000 teachers per year. TFO

8989-524: Was "OECA", sharing the name of its parent organization, but began using the on-air brand "TVOntario" (and later just TVO) beginning in 1974. When the Global Television Network was originally approved, it was with a proposal that OECA would broadcast across southern Ontario during the daytime using Global's six transmitters, as Global's own programming only ran from 5 p.m. to midnight. However, when Global launched in 1974, this proposal

9090-555: Was a large infusion of new money into hospitals specifically to shorten wait times in key areas: knee and hip replacements, cancer treatment, cardiac treatment, cataracts, and MRI and CT scans. The government also brought in free immunizations for children, 150 new Family Health Teams to improve access to physicians, almost 100,000 new home care spaces for Ontario's elderly, almost 4,000 new long-term care beds, and $ 200 million more to improve public health and fight potential outbreaks like SARS and West Nile fever . To pay for this plan,

9191-587: Was able to maintain his party's standing in the polls in the last stages, preventing Eves from making up ground during the leader's debate. On election day, the Liberal were elected to a majority government , winning 72 of the Ontario Legislature's 103 seats. The PC Party fell to 24 seats, while the NDP lost official party status in the legislature. Following the election, the McGuinty government asked former Provincial Auditor Erik Peters to examine

9292-513: Was added, Studio 2 was replaced by The Agenda , and More to Life and Vox were cancelled. The move to digitize services represents a transition; The Globe and Mail quoted TVO CEO Lisa de Wilde saying "while television will remain an important medium for TVO, the days of defining ourselves as only a broadcaster are past." In 2002, the Independent Learning Centre, which is responsible for distance education at

9393-521: Was also criticized by some. McGuinty's performance in the early weeks of the 1999 provincial election was widely criticized in the media, and he was generally regarded as having performed poorly in the election's only leaders' debate. In response to a question by late CITY-TV journalist Colin Vaughan , he described Mike Harris as a "thug" who is lying to the people of Ontario. McGuinty's Liberals won support from progressive voters who had supported

9494-455: Was appointed chairman and Lisa de Wilde became CEO. On June 29, 2006, the provincial Ministry of Education announced a major overhaul of TVO: its production capabilities would be upgraded to fully digital systems by 2009 (ministry funding would be allocated for this); and TFO would be spun off into a separate organization. Moreover, programming changes were announced later that day: thirteen hours of new weekly children's educational programming

9595-552: Was awarded the Commissioner of Official Language 's Award of Excellence – Promotion of Linguistic Duality for her leadership in TFO's transition to more autonomy, and the work the channel has done to promote the development of the Franco-Ontarian community. In April 2016, TFO announced that it had established a partnership with Louisiana Public Broadcasting to syndicate 14 hours per-week of French-language children's programming to

9696-544: Was bookmarked by segments hosted by Andrea Martin that would use scenes from the series to discuss filmmaking techniques. Episodes of The Prisoner were hosted by journalist Warner Troyer whose segments included interviews with the actors and a discussion of various psychological, philosophical or sociological themes regarding the series. Similarly, Doctor Who was hosted by science fiction author Judith Merril who would discuss each week's episode to explore various themes in science and science fiction. Saturday Night at

9797-448: Was created in June 1970 by then Education Minister Bill Davis . At that time, the OECA produced children's and educational programming which was aired on commercial television stations. The CBC, acting on behalf of OECA, applied for and won a licence for the ministry's television station in Toronto. CICA, with the mandate of "[using] electronic and associated media to provide educational opportunities for all people in Ontario". The "CA" in

9898-696: Was no longer possible, and that the Nanticoke Coal Plant will not close until 2009. On May 11, 2005, the McGuinty Liberals delivered their second budget, built around the "Reaching Higher" plan for education. The second year of the four-year plan, this budget was designed to tackle to so-called "education deficit". Investing $ 6.2 billion over the next four years, the budget included the largest investment in higher education in forty years. It also increased accessibility for low-income students, expanded medical school spaces, and invested in new faculty, graduate scholarships and research. The budget also broke

9999-577: Was not implemented. In the latter half of the 1970s, TVO began adding rebroadcast transmitters in other Ontario communities. Its first rebroadcast transmitter, CICO (now CICO-24), signed on from Ottawa on October 25, 1975. In 1987, TVOntario launched La Chaîne française , a French-language public television network which became TFO in 1995. The Ontario government under Mike Harris promised to privatize TVOntario. They never carried through on this plan, but did cut its budget. The positions of chair and CEO were divided in 2005. Film producer Peter O'Brian

10100-424: Was seen as moving the responsibility for safety away from owners and over toward the animals. People who owned pitbulls previous to the ban were allowed to keep them, muzzled in public and sterilized to prevent them from breeding. The "importing" and breeding of pitbulls in Ontario was banned, while all pitbulls being held in shelters were euthanized or sent to research facilities. During early 2005, McGuinty called

10201-406: Was to be expanded rather than scrapped. The 2006 budget was the third year of the four-year plan, and focused on the "infrastructure deficit". The centrepiece was MoveOntario, a $ 1.2 billion investment in transportation infrastructure. $ 400 million was invested to build and repair roads and bridges in municipalities across Ontario. On May 18, 2006, a judge agreed with Greg Sorbara's contention that

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