Congratulations, Duff Roman! The legendary Canadian Broadcaster and CAB Hall of Fame inductee was recently appointed to the Order of Canada “for his contributions to the Canadian music industry as a broadcaster and executive, and for his steadfast promotion of Canadian talent.” This distinction is one of the country’s highest civilian honours.
Roman was instrumental in shaping the Canadian broadcast industry and supporting the development and success of Canadian talent on radio and the world stage. His radio career has spanned decades, beginning in his hometown of Swift Current, SK at CKSW. After working at stations across the Prairies he moved East to Toronto, quickly becoming a popular on-air personality at CKEY, CKFH, and ultimately CHUM in 1965.
In Toronto, his love of music led him to establish Roman Records, which produced albums for David Clayton-Thomas and The Paupers, among others. He also spearheaded the creation of FACTOR in 1982 to support Canadian artists with the goal of increasing high-quality Canadian music to play on the airwaves. Today, FACTOR supports Canadian artists of all genres and awards over $200 million in grants annually.
Duff Roman has made an undeniable impact on the Canadian broadcasting sector and is a cherished part of our history at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. He served as Chair of the CAB Radio Board in 1994 and Chair of the CAB Joint Board from 1996 – 1998. In 2001 he was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame (2006), awarded the Ontario Association of Broadcasters Lifetime Achievement Award (2010), and Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award (2019) at the JUNO Awards.
The CAB is proud of this recognition for Duff, and we join with his many friends and colleagues to thank him for his tremendous impact and contribution to the broadcasting sector.
View the full list of honourees here.