Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada

Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC), the longtime weekly program that unites Canadians coast-to-coast to watch their national pass-time, regularly shows Toronto Maple Leafs' games at the expense of other Canadian teams, particularly the Montreal Canadiens.

Not only are the Montreal Canadiens the most storied franchise of the National Hockey League, they provide good, wholesome entertainment and have fans from across the country. This contrasts with the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose fanbase is primarily Toronto and its surrounding area. While viewers admirably get a healthy dose of watching other Canadian teams out West (who all get decent exposure on the network), the entire country is regularly "taken hostage" into watching the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Previously, viewers had the option of switching to the French broadcast on SRC (French CBC) to watch Montreal Canadiens games, however that stopped a few years ago. As well, viewers in the Ottawa area are sometimes treated to Ottawa Senators games, yet this is not the case with Montreal and the rest of Quebec.

Therefore, it is grossly unfair to viewers in Montreal and across Canada whose tax dollars are paying for HNIC (as it is broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) - a crown corporation) but are forced to watch a team that they really do not want to watch, while the station maintains their bias.

The city of Montreal and the province of Quebec comprise of a major population base in Canada, and as such, rightfully deserve the respect of being treated to Montreal Canadiens games. Additionally, the Montreal Canadiens have a greater fanbase across the country, so it is in the interest of the CBC, as a crown corporation, to respect the wishes of Canadians at large.