Canada's private broadcasting industry is made up of national and regional networks, as well as individual stations in communities across the country. The regulation of private broadcasting is the responsibility of the federal regulatory agency the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC bases its regulations, policies and guidelines for the broadcasting industry on the 1991 Broadcasting Act.

In response to concerns raised by the public and the CRTC, Canada's private television and radio broadcasters have developed self-regulatory codes and guidelines through the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) to address issues such as violence, gender representation, ethics, and advertising to children.

While adherence is voluntary, there are instances in which the CRTC requires a broadcaster to follow an industry code as a condition of its licence. Examples of this can include the Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming, the Sex-Role Portrayal Code and the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children.

Private broadcasters created the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) to administer the CAB's codes and to respond to complaints from the public about possible violations. The Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children and the Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages are administered by Advertising Standards Canada.

The Canadian television industry has also developed a classification system for the programming broadcast on Canadian television stations and networks. Each Canadian television service is responsible for classifying certain Canadian and foreign programming that it airs.