CBQT-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, broadcasting at 88.3 FM, and serves all of

Northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

through a network of relay transmitters.

History

The station was launched in 1973 as CBQ on 800 AM. The 800 frequency had been vacated earlier that year by the defunct CJLX. CBQ Radio's inaugural morning broadcast in December 1973 made it the second city in Ontario to get a regional broadcast centre. The call sign CBQ was a last minute choice by station managers since CBL (for Lakehead) or CBT (for Thunder Bay) were already taken by the CBC stations in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrabor, respectively. Instead the letter Q was chosen for Quetico Provincial Park near

Atikokan Atikokan (, Ojibwe for 'caribou bones') is a town in the Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,642 as of the 2021 census. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes itse ...

, which is west of Thunder Bay. Prior to CBQ's launch, CBC Radio programming aired on private affiliate CFPA. CBQ moved to FM as CBQT-FM in 1990. The CBQ-FM callsign was already in use by the CBC Stereo sister station on 101.7 FM. Some of the relay transmitters for CBQT previously rebroadcast CBL in Toronto.

Local programming

The station's local program is ''Superior Morning'', hosted by Lisa Laco. The station formerly also produced ''Voyage North'', hosted by Gerald Graham in the afternoon,"CBC's Voyage North goes silent". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 9, 2014. although that program was replaced in August 2014 by ''Up North'', hosted by Jessica Pope from the studios of

CBCS-FM CBCS-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Sudbury, Ontario, broadcasting at 99.9 FM, and serves all of Northeastern Ontario through its network of relay transmitters. The station's studio is located at the CBC/Radi ...

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

."CBC Radio announces new afternoon drive program servicing Northern Ontario region"
. Yahoo News, August 11, 2014. The move faced some protest in the city, with Thunder Bay City Council passing a unanimous resolution requesting that the federal government rescind its 2012 funding cuts to the CBC. CBQT's rebroadcast transmitters in the Central time zone also simulcast the 5 p.m. hour of local programming from CBW in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

so that the network's ''World at Six'' airs at 6 p.m. local time. The CBC Radio studio in Thunder Bay also produces the hourly weekend weather reports for all of Ontario after the hourly news break.

Repeaters

CFTL-FM CFTL-FM, is a First Nations community radio station which operates at 100.3 MHz FM in Big Trout Lake, Ontario, Canada. The station is owned by the Ayamowin Communications Society and is a rebroadcaster of CBC Radio One outlet CBQT-FM in Thund ...

, a radio station in

Big Trout Lake Big Trout Lake is a large lake in Northern Ontario. The Fawn River (Ontario), Fawn River flows into it from the west and drains it from the east. The Indian reserve, reserve of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, also known as Big Trout ...

owned by the Ayamowin Communications Society, rebroadcasts CBQT-FM part-time, with additional programming originating from

CKWT-FM CKWT-FM is a radio station of Wawatay Radio Network in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. The station airs a programming format for First Nations, and serves much of Northwestern Ontario through a network of rebroadcast transmitters. Rebroadcaste ...

Sioux Lookout. It is currently unknown if this station is still broadcasting.

AM to FM

Some of CBQT-FM's repeaters currently operate on the AM dial. Future plans are possible to convert the remaining repeaters to the FM dial. On December 21, 2012, the CBC filed an application to the CRTC to convert the following AM transmitters to the FM dial. *CBOL 1450 to 91.3 with 50 watts *CBLH 1010 to 92.3 with 50 watts The CRTC approved the applications for both transmitters on May 8, 2013. On January 21, 2013, the CBC filed an application to the CRTC to convert CBLS 1240 to 95.3 FM with 500 watts (average & maximum ERP). Antenna height will be 182 metres (EHAAT) and the radiation pattern will be non-directional. As well this new FM transmitter will serve the nearby town of Hudson and Hudson's transmitter (CBQW 1340) was deleted as well. The conversion was approved by the CRTC on April 17, 2013. On May 14, 2015, the CBC applied to convert CBLN 1240 to 98.1 MHz with 50 watts, antenna height 9.1 metres (EHAAT) with a non-directional antenna pattern. The CRTC approved the CBC's application on July 28, 2015. On December 22, 2016, the CBC applied to convert CBLW 1010 to 97.7 MHz. The CRTC approved the CBC's application to move CBLW from the AM band to the FM band on March 16, 2017. On March 2, 2017, the CBC applied to convert CBLM 1090 to 107.5 MHz. CBEH 1010

Terrace Bay Terrace Bay is a township in Thunder Bay District in northern Ontario, Canada, located on the north shore of Lake Superior east of Thunder Bay along Ontario Highway 17, Highway 17. The name originates from a series of lake Terrace (geology), ter ...

was shut down. On November 22, 2017, the CBC applied to convert CBOI 690 to 95.5 MHz. The CRTC approved the CBC's application to move CBOI to the FM band on February 5, 2018. On March 3, 2022 the CBC reapplied to the CRTC to add a new FM transmitter at Ear Falls to replace CBOI AM which was approved on May 3, 2022. On March 8, 2019, the CBC applied to convert CBLB 1340 to 90.9 MHz. This application was approved on May 13, 2019.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2019-142
CBQT-FM Thunder Bay – New transmitter in Schreiber, ''CRTC'', May 13, 2019

References

External links

CBC Thunder Bay
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cbqt-Fm Bqt Bqt Radio stations established in 1973 1973 establishments in Ontario