# 2011 in Canadian television

The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2011. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.

## Events
### January

| Date | Event |
| 3 | The US-Canadian animated television series The Adventures of Chuck and Friends begins airing on Treehouse. |
| 5 | The US-Canadian animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic begins airing on Treehouse. |
| 6 | Almost 7 million people watch the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships final on TSN and RDS. |
| 11 | YTV and Family Channel both launch high-definition simulcasts of their east coast video feeds, effectively becoming the first children's networks in Canada to air in HD. These feeds are available through all major television providers in Canada. The latter also undergoes a major rebranding. |

### February

| Date | Event |
| 7 | Niagara News TV, a Category B regional news channel serving the Niagara Region, begins broadcasting in Niagara Falls on Cogeco Cable digital channel 556. The channel would later indefinitely suspend operations on April 18, 2011, because of "technical difficulties" cited by owner Peninsula Broadcasting Corporation's president Frank Thibault, with plans to resume operations by fall 2011. |

### March

| Date | Event |
| 1 | Corus Entertainment relaunches Viva as the Canadian version of the Oprah Winfrey Network. |

### April

| Date | Event |
| 12 | A combined 3.2 million people watch the 2011 federal leaders debate on the three main networks. |
| 18 | Category B channel Sun News Network debuts, with Toronto independent station CKXT-DT and its Hamilton, Ottawa and London translators being effectively turned into a full-power broadcast relay of the network in Southern Ontario. |

### May

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Mlle, a French-language Category B service aimed at women owned by Groupe TVA, launches. |

### June

| Date | Event |
| 1 | WildBrain TV debuts as Disney XD; the Astral Media-owned Category B channel (licensed separately from premium channel Family Channel, which carries programming from the U.S. Disney XD's sister network Disney Channel) is aimed at boys between 7 and 15 years old. Unlike Family and its multiplex channel Disney Junior and Astral's movie channels The Movie Network and MPix, and like their joint venture Teletoon (co-owned with Corus Entertainment at the time) and their BC CBC affiliates, the channel runs commercials during programs. |
| 15 | 8.7 million people watch Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals on CBC. |
| 24 | OLN is launched in high-definition. |

### August

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Launch of W Network in high-definition. |
| 27 | The state funeral for opposition leader Jack Layton airs live on all the main television networks. |
| 29 | The A television system, as well as Alberta-based educational/entertainment service Access rebrand as CTV Two. At the same time, CJAL-TV (channel 9) in Edmonton and CIAN-TV (channel 13) in Calgary, which both relayed Access' programming over-the-air sign off the air as Access is licensed as a satellite-to-cable undertaking. |
| 31 | Analog television is switched off in all of Canada. |

### September

| Date | Event |
| 7 | The 2011 Gemini Awards air on CBC Television. |

### October

| Date | Event |
| 3 | Rogers Communications launches CityNews Channel, a Category B 24-hour regional cable news channel available in Ontario, based out of the studios of Citytv flagship station CITY-DT. |
| 31 | FX Canada launches across the country, the Rogers Communications-owned Category B channel primarily carries original programming from the U.S. cable network FX. |

### November

| Date | Event |
| 1 | Toronto station CKXT-DT (channel 52) and its Hamilton and London, Ontario transmitters shut down. CKXT's Ottawa transmitter shut down more than two months earlier on August 31. The move by owner Quebecor Media was due to a CRTC inquiry in early July on the company's usage of the CKXT signal to simulcast Sun News. |

## Television programs
### Programs debuting in 2011

Series currently listed here have been announced by their respective networks as scheduled to premiere in 2011. Note that shows may be delayed or cancelled by the network between now and their scheduled air dates.
| Show | Station | Premiere Date |
| The Adventures of Chuck and Friends | Treehouse TV | January 3 |
| InSecurity | CBC | January 4 |
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | Treehouse TV | January 5 |
| Almost Naked Animals | YTV | January 7 |
| The Marilyn Denis Show | CTV | January 10 |
| Being Human | Space | January 17 |
| Skins | The Movie Network/Movie Central | January 17 |
| Blackstone | APTN | January 25 |
| Mr. Young | YTV | March 1 |
| Funny as Hell | HBO Canada | March 11 |
| My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Series | Teletoon | March 14 (English) February 28 (French) |
| Endgame | Showcase | March 14 |
| Splatalot! | YTV | March 14 |
| Scaredy Squirrel | YTV | April 3 |
| Wipeout Canada | TVtropolis | April 3 |
| Til Debt Do Us Part: Home Edition | HGTV | April 7 |
| Decked Out | HGTV | April 7 |
| Top Chef Canada | Food Network |
| King | Showcase | April 17 |
| XIII: The Series | Showcase | April 20 |
| Combat Hospital | Global | April 21 |
| Really Me | Family | April 22 |
| Debra! | Family | June 4 |
| Picnicface | The Comedy Network | August 31 |
| Intervention Canada | Slice | September 9 |
| Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays | CBC | September 14 |
| Cover Me Canada | CBC | September 18 |
| Crash Canyon | Teletoon at Night | September 18 |
| Recipe to Riches | Food Network and Global | October 19 |
| The West Block | Global | November 6 |

### Programs ending in 2011

| Show | Station | End date |
| Carl² | Teletoon | January 23 |
| Make the Politician Work | CBC | February 27 |
| Total Drama World Tour | Teletoon | April 24 |
| Météo+ | TFO | April 28 |
| Kid vs Kat | YTV | June 4 |
| Dan for Mayor | CTV | September 13 |
| Hiccups | CTV | September 13 |
| So You Think You Can Dance Canada | CTV | September 13 |
| How to Be Indie | YTV | October 24 |
| Being Erica | CBC | December 12 |

### Made for TV movies & miniseries

| Show | Station | Premiere Date |
| The Kennedys | History Television | April 10 |
| John A.: Birth of a Country | CBC Television | September 19 |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 8 | Peter Donaldson | 57 | Known best for his stage work, he had recurring guest spots on Road to Avonlea, Street Legal, and Emily of New Moon, starring as John Adams in Liberty! The American Revolution. |
| March 26 | Roger Abbott | 64 | British-born Canadian sketch comedian, best known for his years on radio and television program Royal Canadian Air Farce (1975–2010). Also co-executive produced XPM (2003). |
| April 4 | Wayne Robson | 64 | Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-con on The Red Green Show. He won Gemini Awards for And Then You Die (1987) and The Diviners (1993). |
| April 17 | Michael Sarrazin | 70 | Canadian film and television. Recurring role on The City. Guest spots on The Virginian, Wojeck, Street Legal, Murder, She Wrote, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. |
| June 9 | Claude Léveillée | 78 | Singer appearing on French television as an actor. |
| July 5 | Gordon Tootoosis CM | 69 | Canadian film, television, and theatre actor of Cree and Stoney descent, Order of Canada winner. In 2011, he co-starred in Blackstone, a series for APTN and Showcase. Television roles include Albert Golo on North of 60, for which he was twice nominated for a Gemini Award, and the voice of Mushom in Wapos Bay: The Series, for which he shared a Gemini Award. Guest spots include MacGyver, Northern Exposure, Lonesome Dove: The Series, and Smallville. |
| September 15 | Frances Bay | 92 | Canadian-born American actress (Seinfeld, Happy Days, The Middle) |

## Television stations
### Debuts

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation |
| August 1 | Bellingham, Washington (USA) (Vancouver, British Columbia) | KBCB-DT2 | 24.2 | Estrella TV |
| August 18 | Bellingham, Washington (USA) (Vancouver, British Columbia) | KVOS-DT2 | 12.2 | TheCoolTV (not to be confused with Canadian cable channel CoolTV) |
| October 3 | Toronto, Ontario | CityNews Channel | (cable-only) | CityNews |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | References |
| April 18 | Toronto, Ontario | CKXT-TV/DT | 52 (analogue) 66 (digital) | Independent | Sun News Network (simulcast) | |
| April 25 | Bellingham, Washington (USA) (Vancouver, British Columbia) | KVOS-TV | 12.1 | Independent | MeTV | |

### Closures

| Date | Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes |
| November 1 | Toronto, Ontario | CKXT-TV/DT | 52 (analog) 66 (digital) | Sun News Network | |