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Marketplace (Canadian TV program)

television series

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ6770937
Source-derived summary

Marketplace (officially CBC News: Marketplace) is a Canadian investigative consumer program which has been broadcast on CBC Television since 1972. The program investigates consumer reports on issues such as product testing, health and safety, fraudulent business practices, and also tests government and industry promises.

Despite airing on Friday nights, which typically have low viewership, the show has had high ratings and achieved over 1 million viewers for some episodes. In 2012, it was the fifth-highest rated show on CBC.

History

The program was influential in the banning of urea formaldehyde foam insulation and lawn darts in Canada, the legislation of warnings on exploding pop bottles, successful prosecution of retailers for false advertising, new standards for bottled water and drinking fountains, new regulations to make children's sleepwear less flammable, and the implementation of safer designs for infant beds.

The program's reporting has exposed the illegal dumping and burning of Canadian plastic recycling in Malaysia, the sale of fake university degrees to Canadian professors and social workers, and its hidden camera investigations documented hygiene issues in hospitals, misleading sales practices, and violence and neglect in long-term care homes.

Investigations have led to corporate and government changes: Google Maps launched a review of the country's locksmith listings after the identification of dozens of fake listings and reviews. Ontario's real estate board launched an investigation and review of its agents after the program documented agents breaking rules around "double-ending".

When the program's original lab testing found dangerous levels of cadmium in jewelry sold by Ardene and Aldo, journalists travelled to China to expose how these chemicals end up in products found on Canadian store shelves. The episode prompted an investigation by Health Canada and changes in the companies' suppliers.

One of its most popular programs involved an international investigation tracking the people behind the Canada Revenue Agency scams and technical support scams.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Marketplace (Canadian TV program)” as television series. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Marketplace, Canadian and program.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1972, 2012—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Marketplace, Canadian and program providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Marketplace (Canadian TV program)”, the useful work is to connect “television series” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6770937. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972 and 2012.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Marketplace (Canadian TV program)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Marketplace (Canadian TV program) primary sources, Marketplace (Canadian TV program) archive and Marketplace research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Marketplace (Canadian TV program)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Marketplace (Canadian TV program)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.