The station was originally licensed by the CRTC in 1984.[1] However, due to financial constraints at the CBC, the station was never launched, and the CBC was forced in 1991 to surrender all of its non-operating licenses. The license surrender left Sudbury as one of the largest cities in all of Canada not served by the CBC's second network.[2]
The CBC subsequently applied for a new license, which was awarded in 2000,[3] and the station launched on March 29, 2001.[4] The network's Take Five, hosted by Shelley Solmes, broadcast from the Art Gallery of Sudbury the day of the station's launch.[4]