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Canada is now eligible to enter the Eurovision Song Contest, but the country’s public broadcaster won’t say whether it will participate in the popular competition.
CBC/Radio-Canada became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Thursday, following a vote at the EBU’s general assembly in Prague. The Canadian public broadcaster had been an associate member of the EBU since 1950.
The new membership means Canada is now eligible to submit an entry to Eurovision, but the CBC won’t say whether it will — for now.
“We’ll have more to say about the Eurovision Song Contest later,” Leon Mar, a spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada, said in an email.
In the 2025 budget, the Carney government said it was working with the CBC “to explore Canada’s participation in Eurovision.” Two government sources told CBC News at the time that the prime minister was personally involved in pushing the initiative,
The federal government has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In May, Eurovision director Martin Green said that the contest would welcome Canadian participation.
Other non-European countries compete
The EBU organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, commonly known as Eurovision, which has run since 1956. Eligible broadcasters can submit songs that represent their country, and viewers from other countries can cast votes. The rules of the competition can change by the year.
Canada wouldn’t be the first non-European country to compete — Israel, Morocco and Australia have all participated.
Australia competed starting in 2015, even though its participating broadcaster, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), is not a full member of the EBU. Instead, the union granted it special permission to participate. Recently, Israel’s participation has prompted broadcasters from several other countries to withdraw, including those from Ireland, Spain, Iceland, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
In the 2026 competition, Bulgarian singer Dara won with a song called Bangaranga.
Promotion will benefit both CBC and EBU, execs say
The EBU is an alliance of public service media, with 115 member organizations across 57 countries, in addition to 28 associates.
CBC’s promotion to EBU full member means the public broadcaster can now access “networks for investigative journalism, verification, digital news and data, as well as the Eurovision News Exchange and Euroradio Music Exchange services,” a news release from CBC and the EBU says.
The exchange also allows members to share live and edited news coverage.
“This new chapter in our relationship with the EBU and its members will deepen our cooperation at a time when the collective impact of public service media is essential,” Marie-Philippe Bouchard, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in the news release.
“It’s an important milestone that will benefit people on both sides of the Atlantic by helping to combat disinformation and support cultural expression.”
Noel Curran, director general of the EBU, said Canada can make strong contributions to the EBU.
“As one of the world’s leading public broadcasters, it has already contributed hugely to our union — helping us set and uphold the standards of public service journalism that matter most right now,” he said in the news release.
“Full membership means we can now do even more together…. Canada’s voice in this community makes us stronger.”
