J. Conrad Lavigne

Who was J. Conrad Lavigne?

J. Conrad Lavigne, CM, O.Ont was a pioneering Canadian media proprietor.

Born in Chénéville, Quebec, Lavigne was raised in Cochrane, Ontario. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1942 and fought in World War II. When he returned to Canada following the war, he settled in Kirkland Lake, where he purchased the Prince George Hotel, working as joint owner from 1946 to 1948, then owner from 1948 to 1950 and then became a radio host for CJKL. He subsequently moved to Timmins and applied for a broadcasting license; CFCL went to air in 1952 as the first French language radio station in Ontario.

In 1956, Lavigne also received a television license. CFCL-TV went to air that year as a dual affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English and French television networks. Lavigne subsequently added rebroadcast transmitters in several other communities. By 1965, he owned the largest private microwave transmission network in the world.

In 1971, Lavigne expanded into Sudbury and North Bay. CKNC in Sudbury and CHNB in North Bay went to air that year as CBC affiliates. The former CBC affiliates in those cities, CKSO and CKNY, reaffiliated with CTV, and their owner, Cambrian Broadcasting, established a new CTV station, CITO, in Timmins. In 1974, Lavigne also acquired CHRO in Pembroke.