CJFO-FM (branded as ''94,5 Unique FM'') is a radio station which broadcasts a

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

community radio format on the frequency 94.5 FM/ MHz in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Radio de la communauté francophone d'Ottawa (RCFO), the station received CRTC approval on February 4, 2010. The station officially launched at 6 a.m. on November 15, 2010 after a testing period that began in September 2010. While the Ottawa-

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

market is served by several francophone stations, CJFO is the first station in the market targeted specifically to the

Franco-Ontarian Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of On ...

audience in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. The commercial francophone outlets are licensed to Gatineau and primarily target listeners on the Quebec side of the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

. The Radio-Canada outlets focus on not only the National Capital Region, but Canada as a whole. The station is the francophone radio broadcast partner for the Ottawa Senators and the Ottawa Titans. CJFO's studios are located in Vanier, while its transmitter is located in Camp Fortune, Quebec. The station is a member of the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada.

History

On August 26, 2008, RCFO's first attempt to obtain a license was denied by the CRTC. The initial application would have had the station broadcast at 101.7 MHz, with an average effective radiated power of 718 watts. On November 21, 2008, federal Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages James Moore issued a statement calling on the CRTC to review its prior approval of two new stations in the Ottawa area,

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

's CJOT-FM and Frank Torres' CIDG-FM. Moore asked the commission to assess whether the francophone population of the Ottawa-Gatineau area was sufficiently well-served by existing French radio services, and to consider licensing one or more of the French language applications — which included a Christian music station, a community radio station and a

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

station for the Université du Québec en Outaouais — in addition to or instead of the approved stations. In the resulting round of hearings, Torres proposed that a new francophone station could be licensed on 94.5 FM, although such a station would be second-adjacent to Astral's CIMF-FM.

Industry Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...

subsequently aired a testing signal on 94.5 in May 2009 to determine whether the signal could be used without impacting CIMF.Scott Fybush
"On Memorial Day, No On-Air 'Rewound'"
''NorthEast Radio Watch'', May 25, 2009. The test found that the signal could be used without causing significant interference to CIMF, and Astral consequently gave its consent to the use of the frequency as long as the company retained authorization to launch CJOT.Scott Fybush

''NorthEast Radio Watch'', June 15, 2009.

References

External links

Radio CJFO FM

Radio de la communauté francophone d’Ottawa
''(formerly www.rcfo.ca)'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cjfo-Fm Jfo Jfo Jfo Radio stations established in 2010 2010 establishments in Ontario