As a contemporary Acadian artist and cultural advocate, I've spent years documenting what can only be described as the deliberate exclusion of Acadian voices from CTV Atlantic's programming. What we're witnessing isn't mere oversight—it's systemic cultural erasure disguised as journalism. Night after night, CTV Atlantic presents faces and voices representing women, Blacks, Mi'kmaq, and virtually every ethnic community in Atlantic Canada, except Acadians—unless it's the tokenistic coverage of August 15th celebrations. This isn't just disappointing; it's an existential threat to a founding culture that has existed in Atlantic Canada since 1604.

The CRTC, supposedly tasked with ensuring broadcast diversity, has abandoned its mandate, allowing Bell Media to perpetuate francophobic programming that would never be tolerated in Quebec or Toronto. Meanwhile, events like the October 23rd Atlantic Canada Cultural gathering at the Halifax Convention Centre continue this exclusionary design, reinforcing the Halifax-centric bubble that drives Acadian culture toward assimilation and extinction.

The Trust Project's Betrayal: When Mission Statements Mean Nothing

CTV Atlantic proudly associates itself with The Trust Project, an initiative supposedly committed to transparency, accuracy, and fairness in journalism. Bell Media's mission statement explicitly declares its core principle "to represent ethnocultural groups, Indigenous people and persons with disabilities in a balanced and accurate manner." The policy claims to "seek out diverse voices, not only in the types of stories we cover but also in our sources, on-screen, on-the-air, behind the scenes and within our workforce."

Yet this commitment evaporates when it comes to Acadian representation. The contradiction is staggering. While Bell Media has learned to feature Indigenous and African Nova Scotian voices daily—a positive development that should be celebrated—the Acadian community receives nothing but silence. The weekly two hours of prime time on "Jive at Five" devotes extensive coverage to weather forecasts, kitten videos, and puppy stories, but finds no room for Acadians from Clare, Pubnico, or anywhere along what they dismissively call the "Hill-bill Claregyle shore."

Version Francaise a lire

This isn't accidental. It's a deliberate editorial choice that reveals the francophobic undercurrent of Halifax-centric media. The Trust Project principles become meaningless rhetoric when applied so selectively. Where is the transparency when an entire founding culture is systematically excluded? Where is the accuracy when coverage suggests Atlantic Canada is somehow complete without Acadian voices? Where is the fairness when every other community receives representation except ours?

October 23rd at Halifax Convention Centre: Exclusion by Design

The Atlantic Canada Cultural event on October 23rd at the Centre des congrès d'Halifax exemplifies everything wrong with the current cultural landscape. These gatherings, presented as celebrations of Atlantic Canadian identity, function instead as mechanisms of exclusion—carefully designed to maintain the status quo of Halifax-centric, anglophone dominance while paying lip service to diversity.

When Acadian artists, musicians, and cultural innovators are systematically omitted from these regional cultural showcases, the message is clear: your culture is tolerated only when sanitized, anglicized, and safely contained within the tourist heritage patrimonial industry. Contemporary Acadian expression—especially work that challenges assimilation or demands linguistic rights—has no place at the table. The event planners would rather feature international acts than acknowledge the vibrant Acadian contemporary arts scene, which is flourishing despite institutional neglect.

This is assimilation by design. By excluding Acadian voices from major cultural platforms while simultaneously celebrating "diversity," these events normalize our absence. They train audiences to expect Atlantic Canadian culture without Acadian participation. They teach young Acadians that their only path to recognition is abandoning their language and cultural distinctiveness. The October 23rd event isn't just another missed opportunity—it's another brick in the wall of cultural genocide through neglect.

The Nightly Erasure: Acadian is the New Black Mi`kmaqi

Turn on CTV Atlantic any evening and witness the pattern: diverse faces, multiple perspectives, representatives from communities across the region—except Acadians. The programming features Black Nova Scotians discussing community issues. Mi'kmaq leaders speak on Indigenous rights. Women from various backgrounds provide expert commentary. Immigrant communities share their experiences. All of this is a valuable and necessary representation.

But where are the Acadians? Where are the voices from communities that have shaped this region for over four centuries? Where is coverage of contemporary Acadian arts, the thriving francophone music scene, the innovative cultural work happening in Clare, Chéticamp, and countless other Acadian communities?

CTV Atlantic's Systemic Erasure: How Halifax-Centric Media Drives Acadian Culture Toward Extinction

The absence is so complete, so consistent, that it can only be intentional. Events like Acadian Days at Grand Pré—significant cultural celebrations attended by thousands—receive minimal coverage or none at all from Bell Media-owned outlets. At the same time, La Presse Acadienne provides comprehensive reporting. When I raised these issues publicly, pointing out that "Bell Media has nothing against those people down in the Tri-county, providing they know their place and that the culture is served up to them on an English language plate," the response from CTV Atlantic was predictable: silence.

This nightly erasure isn't just offensive—it's destructive. When young Acadians never see themselves reflected in regional media, when their language and culture are invisible in the public sphere, the message of assimilation becomes overwhelming. Why maintain your Acadian identity when the media tells you daily that it doesn't matter, that it doesn't even exist?

Academic Communities Are Exhausted

The academic community—historians, sociologists, cultural studies scholars—has grown tired of documenting this ongoing cultural erasure. Researchers at universities across Atlantic Canada have produced extensive work on Acadian cultural resilience, linguistic rights, and the contemporary challenges facing francophone communities. Mainstream media ignore this scholarship.

Academics studying media representation have documented the systematic exclusion of Acadian voices from broadcast journalism. Their findings are dismissed. Cultural theorists have explained how this absence contributes to assimilation pressures and threatens cultural survival. Their warnings go unheeded. Linguists have demonstrated the connection between media representation and language maintenance. Their data is irrelevant to Bell Media executives focused on Halifax demographics and advertising revenue.

The exhaustion is real. How many more studies need to be published? How many more interventions filed with the CRTC? How many more public callouts, social media campaigns, and community petitions before CTV Atlantic acknowledges its responsibility to represent ALL founding cultures of Atlantic Canada?

This weariness extends beyond academia. Acadian artists, musicians, and cultural workers are exhausted from fighting for basic recognition. Community leaders are tired of explaining why representation matters. Parents are frustrated trying to teach their children cultural pride when the dominant media suggests their heritage is irrelevant. The psychological toll of this constant erasure cannot be overstated.

Bell Media's 2020 statement from their President about prioritizing "Diversity & inclusion at every level" rings hollow when confronted with this reality. The voluntary codes of conduct, the diversity questionnaires, the partnerships with journalism organizations—none of it has produced meaningful change for Acadian representation. These are public relations exercises designed to deflect criticism while maintaining the comfortable Halifax-centric programming that serves their target demographics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why does CTV Atlantic exclude Acadian culture from its programming?

A: The exclusion stems from a combination of Halifax-centric editorial priorities, francophobic institutional culture, and a business model that caters to senior anglophone demographics. CTV Atlantic has demonstrated it can include diverse voices when pressured to do so—they've successfully incorporated Indigenous and African Nova Scotian perspectives—but they lack the will or incentive to extend that inclusion to Acadians. The result is programming that systematically erases a founding culture.

Q: How does this exclusion differ from the representation of other communities?

A: While CTV Atlantic has made meaningful strides in representing Black Nova Scotians, Mi'kmaq communities, women, and various immigrant groups—representation that should be celebrated—Acadian voices remain conspicuously absent. Every night, viewers see diverse faces and hear diverse voices, but never Acadians except during tokenistic August 15th coverage. This selective inclusion reveals the specific francophobic bias underlying CTV Atlantic's editorial decisions.

Q: What role does the CRTC play in this ongoing exclusion?

A: The CRTC has failed spectacularly in its regulatory oversight. Despite its mandate to ensure broadcast diversity and cultural representation, the CRTC has allowed Bell Media to ignore Acadian communities for years. Complaints go unaddressed, license renewals proceed without meaningful conditions, and the regulatory body appears more concerned with maintaining corporate interests than protecting cultural rights. The CRTC's astounding oversight amounts to complicity in cultural erasure.

Q: Are events like the October 23rd Atlantic Canada Cultural gathering truly exclusionary?

A: Absolutely. These events present themselves as celebrations of regional culture while systematically excluding contemporary Acadian artists and cultural innovators. They perpetuate a sanitized, anglicized version of Atlantic Canadian identity that has no room for living, evolving Acadian culture. By normalizing Acadian absence from major cultural platforms, these events accelerate assimilation by teaching audiences that Atlantic Canadian culture can exist without meaningful Acadian participation.

Q: What can be done to address this systemic exclusion?

A: Change requires sustained pressure on multiple fronts. The CRTC must enforce its diversity mandates with meaningful consequences for non-compliance. Bell Media executives need to face public accountability for their programming failures. Academic institutions should leverage their research to demand policy changes. Most importantly, Acadian communities must continue using alternative platforms—decentralized media, social media campaigns, independent journalism—to make their voices heard and document this ongoing cultural erasure until mainstream outlets can no longer ignore us.

References

1. Theriault, Claude Edwin. "Acadians call out francophobic CTV News Atlantic.ca issues." News Trail, 2024. https://www.newstrail.com/acadians-callout-ctv-news-atlantic-ca-exclusion/
2. Theriault, Claude Edwin. "CRTC's Astounding 'Oversight': CTV Atlantic's Exemplary Lack of French Acadian Media Inclusion." Modern Contemporary Artwork Trends, 2023. https://www.moderncontemporaryartworktrends.com/crtcs-astounding-oversight-ctv-atlantics-exemplary-lack-of-french-acadianinclusion/
3. Theriault, Claude Edwin. "CTV Atlantic.ca Continues Exclusion of French Acadian Culture." Modern Contemporary Artwork Trends, 2023. https://www.moderncontemporaryartworktrends.com/ctv-atlantic-continues-exclusion-of-french-acadian-culture/
4. Theriault, Claude Edwin. "Embracing Acadian Inclusivity: to expanding CTV News Atlantic Media." Modern Contemporary Artwork Trends, 2023. https://www.moderncontemporaryartworktrends.com/embracing-acadian-inclusivity-to-expanding-ctv-news-atlantic-media/
5. Theriault, Claude Edwin. "CTV Atlantic Exclusion of Acadian Culture - Video Documentation." YouTube, 2024. https://youtu.be/SR2aBvehGkI