ELMNT FM, First Peoples Radio, Shuts Down
106.5 ELMNT FM in Toronto will be off the air at midnight tonight. Based on Numeris radio ratings, I don't think many of you were listening. The last numbers I saw started with a zero and ended with a zero.
ELMNT FM broadcast from Corus Quay, and I got a tour of their space there when I delivered a Palma Pasta lasagna to Doug Thompson, who had visited for a #deepdive on the history of 1050 CHUM and had been doing work for ELMNT FM. I recall Dave Charles was also working with the station at the time. And the morning show host was Bob Magee, who I believe was the person on the air in Toronto with the most Toronto radio service time under his belt, post-Ashby of course. I did find it curious that none of these people were actually Indigenous.
Here's the official notice from the station.
First Peoples Radio will be ceasing operations as of September 1st, 2025 at 12am. Both 95.7 ELMNT FM in Ottawa and 106.5 ELMNT FM in Toronto will be taken off air.
Since opening our doors in 2018, we have brought awareness of and support to Indigenous artists across Turtle Island, as well as amplify Indigenous voices in our communities. While we still feel there is more work to do, work that we dearly wanted to do to highlight the amazing talent and potential of our communities, we are proud of the impact we have been able to make over the past 7 years.
We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our community partners, the businesses we’ve had the chance to work with, and the artists who have given as much to us as we have to them. We also want to give a very special and heartfelt thank you to Corus Radio, in particular Troy and Julie, who were extremely supportive of us and provided space in their Ottawa and Toronto locations at no cost to us. But most importantly, we would like to thank you, our listeners. Whether we spoke in-person at events, you donated to help keep us on air when we began accepting community support, or you sent us feedback on what you liked and what you wanted to hear more of, we built these stations together, and we could not have done any of the work we have done without your support.
This is not a goodbye, but it is a “see you around”.
Chi Miigwetch,
The ELMNT FM Team