Local Radio Stations

Everyone has that one favourite station that their radio is tuned to in the car or at home, whether it is a station that plays the latest pop hits or a news talk station that will give you information on everything from weather updates to the latest financial market conditions. But there is more to radio than providing you with some soothing sounds to accompany a long commute home at the end of the day. Local radio can be a great source of information on what's going on in your community. You could find out about the latest lofts that are going up downtown or learn about a festival that's happening on the weekend. Here is a little more information about local and community radio.

Many of the popular music stations across the country are run by large communications parent companies. You'll likely find a station for companies like Bob FM no matter where you are in Canada. While these stations will tell you about what's going on around Port Perry homes, for example, they will usually only focus on events and promotions that they are directly involved in. They will highlight a concert where they are the main sponsor or a charity event where they will be sending an on-site crew. If you're interested in all of the local events happening in your city you may have to wait for one daily report of community events.

National radio stations like CBC will have a little more of a community focus but all of these broadcasts will come from major city centres. That means that if you're not in the area around Toronto or Montreal, you may hear more about what's happening there than in your immediate neighbourhood. A fairly complete listing of the radio stations across Canada by city shows that there are hundreds upon hundreds of choices, and you don't need to limit yourself to the ones you can pick up on your radio dial. Many of them stream their programming live over the Internet, so even if you're in Toronto, you can listen to a radio station in Saskatoon.

Community and campus radio is another option for those that are interested in what's going on around them. Both of these are volunteer organizations and are therefore more interested in reporting what you want to hear rather than turning a profit. If you want to hear about events that are relevant to you, and you're in Toronto or the GTA, you might want to check out a University of Toronto or Ryerson station, for example.