A Brief History of the NCRA

In 1981, a group of campus and community radio broadcasters got together in London, Ontario to discuss how they could more effectively work together on common interests. The CRTC's FM Radio Policy of 1975 had recently allowed campus and community radio onto the FM band for the first time, and most in this group were either hopeful or very new broadcasters.

Believing that community-oriented radio could be a valuable resource to communities across Canada, those pioneers formed an association to promote and support the advancement of campus and community radio in Canada. The organization was soon incorporated as the National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des  radios etudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC).

Since then, campus and community radio has grown from a disconnected collection of closed- circuit student broadcasters and a dedicated community volunteers to become a strong third sector, alongside commercial broadcasters and the CBC, in the Canadian radio broadcasting system. Each year an annual conference has been held, hosted by a different member station, which brings together individuals working in campus and community at stations across Canada to learn and share and grow.

The members of the NCRA represent an amazing diversity of stations and programming. Campus and community radios offer the most diverse programming.

Campus and community radio is the fastest growing sector in Canadian broadcasting with new stations joining the FM band each year. The NCRA is dedicated to supporting and strengthening the growth of campus and community radio in Canada.

Further Resourses:
can be found at former NCRA President John Stevenson's website including a variety of archive and document resources covering the period 1988-1993. John Stevenson Site(about 1988 - 1993)