About CJLO 1690

CJLO 1690

CJLO 1690 is the campus and community radio station of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec — a 100 percent non-profit, volunteer-run station broadcasting on 1690 kHz AM with 1,000 watts. Formed in 1998 from the merger of two campus stations and on the AM dial since October 2008, CJLO hosts more than 80 programs spanning rock, hip-hop, jazz, metal, world music, and spoken word, serving Concordia's 50,000 students and Montreal's wider independent-music community. Voted Montreal's best radio station in the Cult MTL readers' poll in 2022 and 2026, it is one of Canada's most decorated campus stations.

Overview

CJLO is an English-language community-based campus AM station licensed to Montreal, operated by the Concordia Student Broadcasting Corporation (Concordia Student Broadcasting Corp.). It broadcasts on 1690 kHz with 1,000 watts day and night from a transmitter in Lachine; its signal can be heard as far as Ottawa and Burlington, Vermont. The station broadcasts from the Loyola campus in Montreal's NDG borough — the heart of Concordia's west-end presence — and is described by the university as Concordia's only radio station.

The station is entirely non-profit and run almost entirely by volunteers — more than 80 DJs and programmers produce its schedule. Its licence commitments include 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, with 8 percent devoted to French-language programming and 2 percent to programs produced by students fulfilling course requirements. The station promotes all genres of music with priority given to Canadian artists and local talent, and its spoken-word features were designed from the start to include student journalism: the licence application promised one-hour news magazines produced by journalism students focusing on university issues, plus radio plays featuring the theatre department.

History

CJLO was formed in 1998 from the merger of CRSG, a closed-circuit station at Concordia's Sir George Williams campus downtown, and CFLI, a carrier-current station at the Loyola campus in NDG — uniting the university's two historic campus radio operations. It continued to broadcast by closed circuit until 2003, when it launched an internet radio stream — streaming seven days a week from early 2003, years before the AM launch made it a fixture of the Montreal dial.

On March 10, 2006, the CRTC approved the Concordia Student Broadcasting Corp.'s application for an English-language community-based campus AM licence in Montreal on 1690 kHz with 1,000 watts. The applicant promised wide exposure for local artists through sponsored local music shows and concerts, a compilation CD of live in-studio performances by Canadian musicians, spoken-word programming including the student news magazines "The Concordian" and "The Link," and radio plays featuring the university's theatre department. Monthly training seminars would develop on-air skills for students and community members.

The station began airing a test signal in September 2008 and officially launched its on-air programming on October 15, 2008 — with the pointedly appropriate first song, "Left of the Dial" by The Replacements, an anthem for college radio's left-of-the-dial spirit. In April 2014, CJLO applied for a low-power FM retransmitter on 107.9 MHz to alleviate downtown reception issues; the CRTC denied the application on January 26, 2015, finding no broadcasting deficiency in the 1690 AM signal within its immediate broadcast area. (The application had flagged potential interference from WVPS, Vermont Public Radio's flagship in Burlington, but the Commission noted that the American station's signal is not protected outside the United States.)

The station has collected national and international honours: "Station of the Year 2010" at the CMJ College Day Awards in New York, a Huffington Post listing among top college radio stations in 2010, "Biggest Champions of the Local Scene 2012," and the #1 Best Radio Station title in Cult MTL's Best of MTL readers' poll in 2022 and again in 2026. Concordia notes that many CJLO volunteers have gone on to careers at CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, TSN, and other national outlets — a testament to the station's role as a training ground for Canadian broadcasting.

Programming

CJLO airs more than 70 original live programs spanning spoken word and a vast range of music: alternative rock, hip-hop, jazz, metal, punk, experimental, classical, world beat, country, blues, and more. The schedule includes long-running specialty shows, student news magazines, and community talk programming, with shows produced by both Concordia students and community volunteers. The station's program roster has included shows dedicated to Caribbean music, film discussion, and experimental sound — reflecting the anything-goes ethos of volunteer campus radio at its best.

New DJs go through a three-part collaborative training program: booth training on the board, equipment, website, and regulations; a shadowing session observing an experienced DJ; and a supervised session with the trainee running the board. The station's programming department coordinates the schedule through weekly newsletters, and a magazine editor solicits story and show-review pitches — giving the station a print-like editorial culture unusual in campus radio. A volunteer coordinator circulates weekly opportunities, keeping the station's large membership engaged beyond their own shows.

The station also hosts events across Montreal promoting local musicians and community causes, extending its presence beyond the broadcast signal. Its fundraisers — including an annual drive that raised more than $7,000 in 2021 — double as community celebrations, reinforcing the station's role as a hub for the city's independent music scene.

Coverage and Audience

CJLO's 1,000-watt AM signal from Lachine covers the Montreal area, with reception reported as far as Ottawa and Burlington, Vermont — an impressive footprint for a campus station, courtesy of AM propagation. The station also streams online 24 hours a day, is carried on Bell IPTV and iTunes Radio's college/university category, and offers a mobile app. Its audience includes Concordia's 50,000 students and Montreal's independent-music and campus-community listeners — an audience that voted it the city's best radio station in 2022 and 2026. Concordia's alumni office describes the station's personalities as "the backbone" of an operation hosting more than 80 programs, and credits CJLO with providing essential hands-on training for emerging journalists and broadcasters.

Ownership

CJLO is owned by the Concordia Student Broadcasting Corporation, a non-profit student organization at Concordia University. The station is funded through student levies and fundraising — including an annual funding drive that raised more than $7,000 in 2021 — and is operated by its volunteer membership with a small core staff. Concordia's advancement office actively solicits donations to help the station grow its production and video departments, connect with faculty, and support local musicians — framing CJLO as a community asset worth sustaining. The station's long-term ambitions, as stated in its fundraising materials, include bigger and better programming built on state-of-the-art equipment and deeper ties across the university.

Digital Presence

CJLO streams live 24/7 through its website and mobile app, and is available on Bell IPTV and iTunes Radio. The station maintains active social media channels promoting its shows, events, and local-music coverage. The official website could not be independently verified in this research environment; Concordia University's alumni pages provide official information about supporting the station.

The station's history — from the 1998 CRSG/CFLI merger through the 2006 CRTC licence and the 2008 AM launch — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project and in the CRTC's 2006 licensing decision, with Concordia University's own publications chronicling its awards and community role.

Fundraising and Community Releases

In March 2012 the station held its first funding drive, releasing "You're Related Vol. 1: Montreal Artists Covering Montreal Artists" — a 20-artist compilation offered as a donor bonus, celebrating the diversity of the city's music scene.