I am known as the father of television in Canada. That may be true in several ways.
As early as 1932, I helped design, build and demonstrate the first Canadian TV set. It was at least 15 years ahead of its time, and my work helped me find a job with the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which soon became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1936 I was responsible for setting up and running CBC's national radio service.
When TV started to make its mark in the United States in 1947, I urged my bosses at the CBC to get moving. They agreed, and put me in charge of bringing television to Canada!
The task was huge. I had to establish two parallel services, one in English and one in French. I also had to struggle against the attitudes of people who believed TV was nothing but an expensive toy. By 1953, CBC and Radio-Canada were reaching millions of Canadians coast to coast, at a cost of only a few cents per viewer per day. When you think of how big a country Canada is, this was quite an engineering feat. By 1967, when I retired as President of the CBC, Canada's public and private networks were providing Canadians with one of the best television services in the world.
In 1969 I was ready to conquer new frontiers. I became chairman of Telesat Canada, which built and launched many of Canada's communications satellites. Today, satellites help take Canadian TV programs to many parts of the globe
