The federal government passes the National Film Act which expands the National Film Board's (NFB) mandate to:

• include the production, promotion and distribution of Canadian films 
  
  
  
• initiate and promote the production and distribution of films in the national interest and, in particular, to interpret Canada to Canadians
  

The Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, also known as the Massey-Lévesque Commission, releases its report which:

• recommends the creation of a national arts funding organization, the Canada Council
  
  
• warns that the potential exists for Canada's culture to be overwhelmed by foreign influences, most notably those from the United States
  
  
• recommends continued public control of the broadcasting system
  

A second Royal Commission on Broadcasting is appointed by the federal government, in response to the arrival of television in Canada. Robert Fowler is appointed Chair.

The Royal Commission on Broadcasting (the Fowler Commission) releases its final report which stresses the importance of a Canadian broadcasting system, given Canada's sparse population and its proximity to the United States.

The Canada Council Act is passed by the federal government in response to recommendations made by the 1951 Massey-Lévesque Commission. The Act creates the Canada Council whose role is to oversee and distribute government grants and services for Canadian artists, musicians, writers, actors and dancers.

The Broadcasting Act (1958) is passed in response to recommendations made in the 1957 Fowler Commission Report. The new act replaces the Canadian Broadcasting Act (1936) and establishes the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG) which assumes the regulatory duties held by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) since 1936. The BBG's mandate includes promoting greater use of Canadian talent and maintaining the national character of the broadcasting system. The Fowler Report also:

• confirms the CBC's role as Canada's public broadcaster
  
  
• permits the creation of national private broadcasting networks in Canada
  
  
• establishes the first Canadian content "quota" by stating that 45 per cent of programming on television must be "Canadian in nature"

Canadian content rules are first established by the Broadcasting Act (1958) which sets a quota of 45 per cent Canadian content on television as a condition of license for Canadian broadcasters.