In Canada, radio began not long after the First World War ended.  The first private commercial radio stations in Canada were given licenses in 1922, and by 1927, radio coverage reached 76 percent of the population.

July 1st, 1927 marked the first national broadcast in Canada, which reported on the Diamond Jubilee of the Confederation of Canada.  In 1932, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission was created—which would eventually become the CBC/Radio-Canada.

Radio broadcasts included many different types of programs.  Depending on where you lived in Canada, you might listen to “Un homme et son péché”, a soap opera based upon the popular Claude-Henri Grignon novel that ran for 22 years; a hockey game, featuring the Montreal Canadiens or the Toronto Maple Leafs; a farm report, which provided weather forecasts, stock prices, and general information for farmers; or music programs, featuring the day’s top entertainment.

Wind at My Back highlights several of the ways the radio was an important part of life.  Season one’s episode “Train to Nowhere”, centres on Max and Honey as he tries to sell a play for the radio.  In “The Agony Column”, Grace is left in charge of a radio show and scrambles to fill the time—she reads the “Agony” advice column from her magazine to fill air time, which is very well received by the audience…until it’s taken too far.

In season two’s “Radio Waves”, Grace becomes the manager of the radio station and has to make some difficult decisions, including cutting the least popular show “Bible Hour”—which prompts vandals in the town to scrawl racist hate graffiti at the radio station.

Even with the advent of television, radio has persisted as both a news outlet and entertainment. Satellite radio has meant that in some areas, radio activity has actually increased! Whatever the reason you tune in, the radio today is at once a nostalgic and contemporary pastime.

To relive the radio as it features in Wind at My Back, visit www.shopatsullivan.com for all five seasons!

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