Ethics policy | Diversity statement | Corrections policy | Ownership structure | Masthead | Editorial ethics guidelines | Mission statement | Verification/fact-checking standards | Unnamed sources policy | Bylines and signatures | Trust and CTV News | Public engagement policy
This is a summary of CTV News policies and is not meant to be comprehensive. CTV News is committed to producing journalism that is accurate, fair and complete. Our journalists act with honesty, transparency, and independence, including from conflicts of interest.
As part of Bell Media, it is a core principle of CTV News to represent ethnocultural groups, Indigenous people and persons with disabilities in a balanced and accurate manner. Our policy is to seek out diverse voices, not only in the types of stories we cover but also in our sources, on-screen, on-the-air, behind the scenes and within our workforce. Understanding the composition of Bell Media's workforce is at the heart of its diversity and inclusion strategy. Bell Media employees are asked to complete a diversity questionnaire, from which data is analyzed on a monthly basis. Reports on this data along with their action plans are presented to Bell Media's Diversity Leadership Council, so it can monitor progress against benchmarks and established goals in its efforts to employ and build a diverse workforce.
Our commitment to diversity is also reflected in the types of stories we report on at CTV News. CTV News monitors the statistics of its full-time staff as it is committed to employment equity and diversity. To protect individual privacy, it does not publicly disclose these numbers.
The goal of CTV News is to be accurate and balanced. Our credibility on air and online depends upon such reporting. Accordingly, CTV News will endeavour to promptly correct significant errors of fact in its journalism, once we determine that an error has been made. The placement of a correction made will be dependent upon how critical the error is, when it is discovered and the repercussions of the error. If we are correcting a significant error in an online article, photo caption, video or other content, we should post a correction on the story page explaining the alteration in a timely fashion. Sometimes, our reporting may be accurate, but the wording used may not be as clear as it could be. In these situations, CTV News will consider rewriting the story and/or publishing a clarification.
An online article is not considered inaccurate, or does not contain an error, simply because there have been future developments in a story after publication. However, CTV will consider newly available information to determine whether an update is necessary. In the case of an update, a specific notification to our readers is not usually necessary as a time stamp will indicate that an update has occurred. Our archival material is very important, and in this digital age, reflects a permanent record of the information available at the time of original publication. In some exceptional cases, that material or parts of it may be substantially wrong. In these situations, we will review the material and determine whether the original story should be revised or rewritten, or whether an update, clarification or correction should be published. The content of a significant correction or clarification and its timing and placement will be the ultimate responsibility of senior news management.
Requests to remove online content: Our online journalism is part of the historical record and our archives represent our commitment to accuracy and fairness. Since our online material is available indefinitely and can be searched and retrieved online, we are regularly being asked to “unpublish” or remove online articles or video, often many years after the content was first published. We do not, except in very narrow circumstances, unpublish articles or video. Source remorse or embarrassment is not a reason to unpublish. If someone changes their mind about being quoted, that is not sufficient reason to remove content from our archives.
However, if there is a change in circumstances, for example, criminal charges were dropped after we had reported that a person was charged with an offence, CTV will review the new information and consider whether it is warranted to update our story to include the new facts. If we determine that an update is appropriate, the original story will not be removed, only updated. We will only consider removal requests in very exceptional circumstances. These may include legal considerations or where the named person is facing genuine threats of physical harm. In these rare circumstances, any decision to remove content must be weighed against the public’s right to know and the historical record and only after consultation with senior news management, who will make the final decision, after considering all these issues including legal ramifications.
Founded in 1971, CTV News is from Bell Media, part of BCE, a publicly traded company. CTV News operations include specialty channels CTV NEWS CHANNEL, BNN Bloomberg, CP24, and information programming including CTV NATIONAL NEWS WITH OMAR SACHEDINA, CTV NATIONAL NEWS WITH SANDIE RINALDO, W5, POWER PLAY, and QUESTION PERIOD. CTV News’ digital operations include flagship news sites CTVNews.ca, as well as CP24.com and BNNBloomberg.ca, and are complemented by the CTV News, CP24 and BNN Bloomberg apps. Part of Bell Media’s vast slate of podcast offerings, CTV News’ podcasts include QUESTION PERIOD, POWER PLAY and TREND LINE. CTV News is committed to upholding principles of journalistic independence and is governed by a Journalistic Independence Policy ensuring independence and non-interference between BCE and CTV News while remaining in compliance with the Broadcast Act and relevant industry codes.
CTV News is funded through advertising revenue and does not receive government funding or subsidies.
Richard Gray
Vice-President, CTV News
David Hughes
Director and Senior Managing Editor, CTV News
Corey Bellamy
Director, Digital Growth, CTV News
Jonathan Kay
Director, News Technology and Production, CTV News
Sophia Skopelitis
Director, Content Creator Talent and People Resources, CTV News
Joel Bowey
Senior Managing Assignment Editor, CTV News
Scott Ferguson
News Director, Centralized Writing Service For CTV News
James Lewis
Executive Producer, CTV News Toronto and CP24
Derek Miller
Executive Producer, CTV National News, CTV News Channel, BNN Bloomberg
Mary Nersessian
News Director, Digital
Joanne Woo
News Director, CTV News Channel
CTV News’ newsgathering is independent of commercial or political interests. We do not accept gifts, including paid travel, in order to avoid any conflict-of-interest or appearance thereof. When we rely on an organization for a product or access to an event, we are transparent about the relationship and note it within the relevant work. The newsroom is insulated from advertisers and underwriters by a firewall. All CTV News properties, news directors, producers, editors, and journalists follow our internal CTV News Policy Handbook which specifies strict adherence to the RTDNA Code of Journalistic Ethics and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics, which mutually govern impartiality in the newsgathering process.
These codes also govern the dissemination of information and news to our readers and viewers. These guiding principles underscore our commitment to journalism that is accurate and reliable in the public interest.
CTV News’ mandate is to uphold journalistic integrity and independence under all circumstances and at all times, without exception. As a reputable news organization in a democracy, it is the fundamental purpose of CTV News to enable Canadians to know what is happening and to clarify events so they may form their own conclusions. This is done through accurate, fair, and relevant stories told in a clear and compelling way.
With a perspective that is uniquely Canadian and via a network of national, international, and local news operations, our mission is to be Canada’s most trusted news source, providing the most timely and relevant news and information on all platforms while adhering to the highest standards of journalism at all times. Our target audience is a broad cross-section of Canadians of all ages who are interested in the world around them.
This news organization commits to do its best to publish accurate information across all of its content. We take many steps to ensure accuracy: We investigate claims with skepticism; question assumptions; challenge conventional wisdom; confirm information with subject-matter experts; and seek to corroborate what sources tell us by talking with other informed people or consulting documents. We verify content, such as technical terms, stats, etc., against source documents or make clear who is providing the information. We may share relevant components of a story with a primary source or an outside expert to verify them.
We stand by the information as accurate, and if it’s not, we will change it as quickly as possible and be transparent with our readers about the magnitude of the error.
We guide our journalists to ask the following questions when they double-check information in a quest for the truth.
We welcome feedback from our readers and sources regarding the information that we publish. Contact: ctvnews.caproducers@bellmedia.ca.
We provide a means for the public to report inaccurate or contested material.
We include the name and contact information for the reporter, as well as the editor’s name, for each substantive news item that we publish.
Our objective is to get everything 'on the record.' Our viewers deserve to know where we get our information, who our sources are and why their comments merit their trust. We should strive to attribute all comments. We must guard against those who wish to use anonymity as a means to hide the truth, deride opponents or manipulate public opinion. But there are circumstances when permitting anonymity is necessary to obtain sensitive information vital to the public good or where the source might face harm, legal jeopardy or loss of livelihood for speaking with us.
We are committed to using bylines except in circumstances as described below, when stories are the culmination of several journalists or when they are supplied by a news agency.
CTVNews.ca staff: If you see the CTVNews.ca staff byline rather than a byline for a specific reporter, writer or producer, it may be that the story was a piece of content based on the work of several people. It may be a collaboration based on the work of several journalists at CTV News, including and not limited to: writers, producers, reporters, trusted content from wire agencies (see information below). On some pages you will see bylines from news agencies rather than CTVNews.ca staff. We trust news agencies to help us cover the world as fully as possible and to adhere to the highest journalistic standards.
The Canadian Press: CP has been Canada's trusted national news agency for more than 100 years, a news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms. Through words, photos, graphics, audio and video, more than 180 journalists cover news stories that impact Canadians with fairness, compassion, accuracy and taste. CP, a for-profit enterprise owned jointly by three of Canada's largest media companies, gives Canadians an authentic, unbiased source, driven by truth, accuracy and timeliness. More details about CP's news principles are available here.
The Associated Press: AP is an independent, not-for-profit news co-operative, serving member newspapers and broadcasters in the U.S., and other customers around the world. CTV News is proud to be one of them. AP journalists in more than 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting to visual storytelling. Since 1846, AP has been covering the world’s biggest news events, always committed to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism. Learn more about policies and standards in AP’s Statement of News Values and Principles.
Reuters: Founded in 1851 in London by German-born Paul Reuter, Reuters is an international news organization owned by Thomson Reuters. Reuters was acquired by the Thomson Corporation in 2008 and now makes up the media division of Thomson Reuters. It employs some 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide, publishing in more than 16 languages and reaching billions of people every day. More details about Reuters' standards and values are available here.
CNN: Staffed 24 hours, seven days a week by a dedicated team in CNN bureaus around the world, CNN's digital platforms deliver news from almost 4,000 journalists in every corner of the globe.
CTV News is a member of the Trust Project, a global network of news organizations.
Founded by award-winning journalist Sally Lehrman, the Trust Project aims to build standards that affirm and amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy, inclusion, and fairness.
Tools developed by the Trust Project, such as a system of trust indicators, are designed to inform the public so they can make informed news choices.
CTV News holds itself accountable to our commitment to journalistic standards. And in a time when readers are bombarded with information online, we want to make it easier for the public to understand how our journalism is produced.
For these reasons, CTV News has taken several measures to enhance trust and improve transparency:
Trust indicators include:
These indicators of credible journalism are also “machine-readable,” signalling to search engines and social media platforms that they are reliable sources of information.
You can find more information on the Trust Project here.
We believe that public feedback is not a one-way street -- that is, simply publishing your comments or letters. Instead, we are committed to engaging with you and taking action based on your suggestions, complaints and other feedback. You may help us develop an individual story or line of coverage, answer questions that a story may raise, identify related or under-covered issues, and teach us about new and diverse sources, experts and perspectives. In line with this, we are committed to providing greater transparency about our journalism and offering regular points of contact and interaction. We believe that news organizations have a responsibility to engage with the public on the values, issues and ideas of the day, and that we have much to gain in return.
Here’s how you can reach us: 416-384-6300 or ctvnews.caproducers@bellmedia.ca.
Here’s how you can reach our local teams:
For the second time in a row, Tim Houston's Progressive Conservatives have won a majority government in Nova Scotia. But this time, the NDP will form the official opposition.
Notorious killer and rapist Paul Bernardo has been denied parole for a third time after the families of his victims made an emotional plea to the Parole Board of Canada on Tuesday to keep him behind bars.
Business leaders across Canada are voicing concerns and fear over the widespread impact increased tariffs could have on their companies and workers, with some already looking to boost sales in other markets in the event their products become too expensive to sell to American customers.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after U.S. President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France.
Edmonton's theatre community is in mourning after an actor died during a performance of "A Christmas Carol" at the Citadel Theatre on Sunday.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says Canada should address U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's border concerns in the next two months, before he's back in the White House, instead of comparing our situation to Mexico's and arguing the tariff threats are unjustified.
The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level since May 2020 after Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods shipped to the United States once he takes office in January.
After U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports on his first day back in the White House unless his border concerns are addressed, there is mixed reaction on whether Canada should retaliate.
As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens Canada with major tariffs, sounding alarms over the number of people and drugs illegally crossing into America, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and some premiers say they agree that more could be done.
Students at a Que. school are accusing their teacher of unlawfully selling their art online. Genevieve Beauchemin has the details.
Several hungry raccoons were chased off a B.C. couple’s deck this week by one over-confident house cat – who was ultimately lucky to saunter away unscathed.
Sunday night was a big night for the Trailer Park Boys, as Ricky, Julian and Bubbles hosted an advanced screening of their new movie in Dartmouth, N.S.
Andrea Arnold is used to having to slow down to let deer cross the road in her Northern B.C. community. But this weekend she saw something that made her pull over and snap a photo.
Every single item misplaced on a bus or ferry in the Halifax Regional Municipality ends up in a small office at the Halifax Transit Bridge Terminal in Dartmouth, N.S.
A new public opinion survey has found that 40 per cent of Torontonians don’t feel safe, while half reported that the quality of life in the city has worsened over the last year.
Edmonton's theatre community is in mourning after an actor died during a performance of "A Christmas Carol" at the Citadel Theatre on Sunday.
A beaver found with an arrow shot through its torso is now recovering at Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge in Pefferlaw, Ont. after a massive rescue effort.
The family of a soldier who fought during the Second World War has been reunited with letters written to him 80 years ago.
The holidays may be a time for family, joy and togetherness, but they can also be hard on the wallet.
Kathy Le has more on Dictonary.com declaring 'demure' the 2024 word of the year after it was used in a viral social media video.
Notorious killer Paul Bernardo has been denied parole for a third time following a hearing before the Parole Board of Canada.
A B.C. court has ordered the forfeiture of $30,000 in cash that was seized during a murder-for-hire investigation more than 30 years ago.
Tuesday was election day in Nova Scotia, but not everything went according to plan. Elections Nova Scotia says “human error” is to blame for a delayed opening at one polling station and high traffic caused its website to crash.
A B.C. RCMP officer who was charged in an on-duty shooting nearly four years ago will not stand trial, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
A Burlington, Ont. woman who allegedly sold fake tickets to Taylor Swift’s concerts in Toronto and scammed fans out of tens of thousands of dollars is facing charges, police say.
For the second time in a row, Tim Houston's Progressive Conservatives have won a majority government in Nova Scotia. But this time, the NDP will form the official opposition.
An FBI agent charged in Maryland with sexually assaulting two women contacted his alleged victims through social media with a promise to give them free tattoos and modeling work, police said Tuesday as they encouraged other potential victims to come forward.
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has signed an agreement with the White House unlocking key transition briefings and activities after a lengthy delay amid concerns, in part, over a mandatory ethics agreement.
A suspected animal rights extremist wanted in the U.S. for bombings in the San Francisco area was arrested in Britain after more than 20 years on the run from the law, officials said Tuesday.
Turkish security forces arrested the three Uzbek suspects in the killing of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates as they left an airport in Istanbul, local media reported Wednesday.
Philippine authorities handed a subpoena to Vice President Sara Duterte's office Tuesday, inviting her to answer investigators' questions after she publicly threatened to have the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker assassinated if she were killed in an unspecified plot herself.
Foreign ministers from leading industrialized countries threw their strong support Tuesday behind an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah but sidestepped the question of whether to enforce an international arrest warrant for Israel's leader over the war in Gaza.
After U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports on his first day back in the White House unless his border concerns are addressed, there is mixed reaction on whether Canada should retaliate.
As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens Canada with major tariffs, sounding alarms over the number of people and drugs illegally crossing into America, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and some premiers say they agree that more could be done.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be convening a meeting of all of Canada's premiers 'this week' to discuss U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's intent to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico on his first day in office, if border issues aren't addressed.
The teenager who is infected with the first human case of H5N1 avian influenza acquired in Canada remains in critical care at BC Children’s Hospital, officials said Tuesday.
Here's a secret that’s not really a secret, many people pee in the shower. Maybe you're one of those people who don't care since it's all going down the same drain, or perhaps you're one of those who find it unhygienic.
British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday in favour of plans to introduce some of the world's strictest anti-smoking rules, giving the green light for the bill to progress to the next parliamentary stage.
Australia's House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 years old from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first law.
The disappearance of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart more than 87 years ago has remained one of the most captivating mysteries in history, with a handful of explorers devoted to scouring the seas for any clue to her final whereabouts.
Researchers have discovered the residues of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids and alcohol inside a 2,000-year-old mug, suggesting that ancient Egyptians imbibed hallucinogenic beverages during rituals.
It appears that Swifties hoping to experience the final dates of the sold-out Eras Tour in December were given another chance Monday.
It's almost that time of year: Spotify is gearing up to release its annual Wrapped, personalized recaps of users' listening habits and year in audio.
Taylor Swift will bring an estimated $157-million economic impact to the city next week with the three final concert dates of the record-breaking Eras Tour, Destination Vancouver said.
A Waterloo, Ont.-based tech company is fighting for its life and that fight has now made its way to courtrooms in both Canada and the U.S.
Business leaders across Canada are voicing concerns and fear over the widespread impact increased tariffs could have on their companies and workers, with some already looking to boost sales in other markets in the event their products become too expensive to sell to American customers.
The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level since May 2020 after Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods shipped to the United States once he takes office in January.
John Tinniswood, an Englishman born the same year the Titanic sank and who survived two world wars and two global pandemics, has died aged 112, Guinness World Records said on Tuesday, months after it recognized him as the world's oldest man.
The newest of these not-for-the-faint-of-heart structures is called Tianti (“Sky Ladder” in Chinese). It clocks in at 168 metres and stretches between two cliffs at a height of 5,000 feet, according to Chinese state media.
In an announcement Monday, Dictionary.com said one word experienced a 'meteoric rise in usage' in 2024.
Police are investigating the death of a man at a mixed-martial arts fight Saturday on the Enoch First Nation adjacent to Edmonton.
Kyle Walters doesn't believe losing a third consecutive Grey Cup means the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' roster should be blown up.
NBA legend Charles Barkley has criticized the Los Angeles Lakers over their handling of Bronny James this season.
An Ontario woman thought she got a good deal when she bought a van for $2,700, but later learned the odometer had been rolled back nearly 100,000 kilometres.
Nearly 46,000 electric vehicles from Kia, Hyundai and Genesis are being recalled in Canada over a potential power loss issue that can increase the risk of a crash.
Northvolt AB has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, but said the move will not jeopardize the manufacturer's planned electric vehicle battery plant in Quebec — though hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars invested in the parent company could be lost.
