Ralph Trapnell Snelgrove (June 11, 1914 – March 27, 1990) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

radio and television pioneer who obtained one of the first television licences issued in Canada and built

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

station CKVR-TV in

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is par ...

. Born in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, Snelgrove was employed by Metropolitan Broadcasting in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

before becoming manager of AM radio station

CFOS CFOS is an AM radio station broadcasting from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. The format is oldies, classic adult contemporary music, and news (plus an adult standards/nostalgic music show, "Remember When", several nights a week from 8-11 p.m.), a ...

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist ...

in 1940. He moved to Barrie to set up the town's first radio station CKBB, which launched on August 31, 1949. Six years later, Snelgrove launched CKVR-TV with call letters representing his wife's name and his own (Valerie and Ralph). In 1965, he founded

Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...

's first radio station, CKCB (AM). Snelgrove sold his television stations to Allan Waters in 1969 and became a director of Waters' company,

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM (AM), CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in ...

. He sold his radio stations to Kawartha Broadcasting in 1983. Snelgrove was the first president of the Central Canada Broadcasters Association and served as president of the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first ...

in 1948. In politics, he served as an alderman in Barrie and was also a school trustee. As well, Snelgrove was president of the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce. He received an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

in 1981 and was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1985. Snelgrove died in 1990 at age 75. One of his sons is Timothy Snelgrove, founder of

Timothy's World Coffee Timothy's World Coffee (a.k.a. Timothy's) is a large Canadian coffee roasting company and chain of coffeeshops. Origin and background Timothy's was founded in 1975 as a retailer of premium roasted coffee beans by Timothy Snelgrove and his wife T ...

External links

Tribute to Ralph Snelgrove
made by Simcoe Centre

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

MPP Bruce Owen at his death in 1990
Biography of Ralph Snelgrove at the Canadian Communications Foundation
1914 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Barrie city councillors Canadian radio company founders Canadian television executives Ontario school board trustees {{Canada-business-bio-stub, Snelgrove, Ralph