LILLEY: Former CBC host blasts state broadcaster on way out the door

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CBC loves diversity, just not diversity of opinion. That mistake has now cost them a former top host and perhaps created an enemy.

In a scathing letter announcing his resignation, now former CBC journalist and television host Travis Dhanraj is taking aim at Canada’s state broadcaster. You can read the full resignation letter here.

“This is an involuntary resignation,” Dhanraj said.

“I am stepping down not by choice, but because the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has made it impossible for me to continue my work with integrity.”

The 20-year broadcast veteran had worked for Bell Media, Global and was recruited to CBC to report on Parliament Hill, Marketplace and then eventually was chosen as host of Canada Tonight with Travis Dhanraj. His show was announced with great fanfare in November 2023, hit the airwaves in January 2024 and was done within the year.

“Travis’s engaging curiosity and incredible range of experience allows him to translate complex stories into personal terms and help audiences make sense of the news, which will be key as Canada Tonight sharpens its focus on stories that matter at home and make a difference in this country,” said CBC executive Andree Lau in a statement at the time.

Quickly though, CBC realized that Dhanraj wasn’t the kind of host CBC wanted; he actually welcomed a diversity of opinion. And while other shows like Power & Politics faced a boycott at the time by MPs from the federal Conservatives over their blatant pro-Trudeau, Liberal bias, those same Conservative MPs would speak to and appear on TV with Dhanraj, something CBC’s “top talent” wouldn’t allow and blocked from happening.

Appearances by people like me, not normally welcome at CBC HQ, didn’t go over well either.

“When I joined CBC, I did so with a clear understanding of its mandate and a belief in its importance to Canadian democracy. I was told I would be ‘a bold voice in journalism.’ I took that role seriously. I worked to elevate underrepresented stories, expand political balance, and uphold the journalistic values Canadians expect from their public broadcaster,” Dhanraj said in his resignation letter.

“But what happens behind the scenes at CBC too often contradicts what’s shown to the public. Performative diversity, tokenism, a system designed to elevate certain voices and diminish others.”

Dhanraj says he was denied access to key newsmakers and says “a small circle of senior Ottawa-based journalists” — read that as David Cochrane and Rosemary Barton – used internal booking and editorial processes to block him from booking key guests.

“I was fighting for balance and accused of being on a ‘crusade,’” Dhanraj says.

Those who know Dhanraj know that he is far from someone pushing a conservative agenda. During his time covering Queen’s Park, he was a constant thorn in the side of Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

As a show host though, Dhanraj wanted to reflect the viewpoints of the whole country. Liberals, New Democrats, Conservatives and people who didn’t fit into neat, tidy boxes.

That made CBC executives uncomfortable.

They obviously thought when they hired a self-described brown dude from Calgary whose parents had immigrated to Canada from Trinidad that they were getting someone with a certain point of view. That’s the kind of diversity CBC wants, the diversity that rests on the surface, with skin colour, not the diversity that allows other views to be aired to CBC’s audience.

CBC executives, fully immersed in the DEI culture, didn’t know how to handle the man they had actually hired and so they fought him the entire time he hosted the show. Shortly after the show launched, certain segments were cut – especially those showcasing diverse opinion – the interference from Ottawa only intensified.

His decision to criticize CBC President Catherine Tait for defending executive bonuses while cutting front line jobs brought about retribution, including a demand that he sign a non-disclosure agreement. By November, Dhanraj was off the air, but his name was still on the show.

CBC initially refused to comment, then in early 2025 they said they were going in a new direction with a new host, Ian Hanomansing. After trying to demote Dhanraj, the journalist and state broadcaster were at a standstill.

CBC in a statement to the Toronto Star said it “categorically rejects the accusations made about CBC News, our staff and management” and that it is limited in what it can say due to privacy and confidentiality concerns.

Now, Dhanraj has made it clear that his relationship with CBC is over.

“My departure is not the end of this story. There is more to come — and it will be shared when the time is right. You have taken away my job, but you cannot and will not silence my voice,” he wrote in his letter.

That sounds like there will be more stories, interesting stories, about CBC in the future.