The Road to Victory: CBC's VE Day Broadcast, May 8, 1945
Did You Know? This broadcast reached over 80% of Canadian households - the highest radio audience in CBC history!
Canada's Moment of Triumph
On May 8, 1945, CBC Radio united the nation with its historic The Road to Victory broadcast marking Victory in Europe Day. This 18-hour marathon coverage featured:
- Live reports from 14 Canadian cities and 8 European locations
- Exclusive interviews with Canadian troops in liberated Netherlands
- Churchill's victory speech relayed directly from London
- King George VI's address to the Commonwealth
- On-the-street reactions from Halifax to Vancouver
🎙️ Behind the Broadcast:
"We had to keep cutting between Ottawa and London while technicians frantically adjusted shortwave signals through static. At one point, we lost Churchill completely and had to switch to a backup feed."
- Senior producer James Bannerman in 1975 CBC oral history
✉️
"My mother recorded the broadcast on wax cylinders. When Churchill spoke, our whole Winnipeg neighborhood crowded into our parlor to hear it replayed."
- Margaret T. (born 1932), via subscriber letter
Relive the Historic Broadcast
🇨🇦 Canadian Reactions
🎧 Coast-to-Coast CelebrationsFrom Halifax's docks to Vancouver's Victory Square
(Recommended by James)
📜 Broadcast Excerpt:
ANNOUNCER: "This is the CBC... We interrupt regular programming to bring you this special bulletin... Germany has surrendered unconditionally..."
(Sound: Distant church bells begin ringing)
REPORTER: "I'm standing outside Toronto's City Hall where people are... wait, someone just handed me a newspaper - the headline simply says 'PEACE' in letters two inches tall..."
Which historic CBC broadcast should we feature next?
The 1954 Hurricane Hazel coverage? The 1972 Summit Series? Email your suggestions!
Share Your Memories
"We're collecting personal stories about VE Day 1945! Did you or your family:
- Listen to this historic broadcast?
- Celebrate in a Canadian city that day?
- Have relatives serving overseas when peace was declared?
Selected memories may be featured in future updates (with permission).
Listener Memories
James (Ontario)
"My father was a CBC engineer that day. They had to set up an emergency transmitter on Parliament Hill when the crowds grew too large for regular equipment. He said the most moving moment was when spontaneous singing of 'O Canada' broke out across the crowd - you can hear it faintly in the broadcast around 3:17 PM."
Added: May 7
Margaret (Nova Scotia)
"We listened on a battery radio because our rural power was still out. When the announcement came, my mother burst into tears - my brother's ship had been sunk in the Atlantic just two weeks earlier. That broadcast was the first time I understood that 'victory' could still be bittersweet."
Added: May 6
Comments may be edited for length/clarity.
Never Miss a Story
Subscribe to receive our weekly retro radio newsletter with:
- 📻 Featured historic broadcasts
- ✉️ Exclusive subscriber memories
- 🎧 Rare audio discoveries
Join our community of 3,200+ radio history enthusiasts!