How to watch CBC's New Year's Eve live countdown
CBC
Get your confetti and noisemakers ready and settle in to ring in 2026 with two back-to-back New Year's Eve specials on CBC.
Coverage begins at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem with a satirical sendoff to 2025, This Hour Has 22 Minutes New Year's Eve Pre-game Special, followed by a live cross-Canada countdown hosted by Adrienne Arsenault, Jann Arden, Ian Hanomansing and Andrew Phung.
The cross-Canada countdown begins live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on select streaming platforms and CBC News Network. On CBC TV, each time zone will begin airing the special at 9 p.m. local time following the This Hour Has 22 Minutes New Years Eve special and join the live broadcast in progress.
Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on:
Those who want to watch or listen on CBC TV, local CBC News streaming channels, CBC Radio or the CBC Listen app can join the festivities at 9 p.m. local (9:30 NT).
This Hour Has 22 Minutes will kick off the night with its second annual New Year's Eve special highlighting the best — and worst — of 2025.
The hour-long show stars Aba Amuquandoh, Stacey McGunnigle, Trent McClellan, Chris Wilson and Mark Critch, with a musical performance by East Coast indie rock singer-songwriter Adam Baldwin and some surprise guests.
Reporters in communities from coast to coast to coast will help the four hosts of CBC’s Live Cross-Canada Countdown ring in the new year.
Chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Canadian recording artist Jann Arden will host the show from Harbourfront Centre in Toronto while Ian Hanomansing and Andrew Phung will be hosting from the ICE District in Edmonton.
The live special will highlight New Year’s Eve celebrations across the country, along with surprise moments, special guests and messages from Canadian personalities.
Viewers at home will be invited to submit their own messages for 2026 (details of how to submit will be shown throughout the broadcast).
Live Cross-Canada Countdown continues until the last party ends on the West Coast, wrapping up at 3:30 a.m. ET/12:30 a.m. PT.
For those hoping to ring in the new year in style, there are a variety of events across Toronto.
Small bridges around Paulatuk, N.W.T., are giving harvesters a safer way to get to their camps, as climate change makes travelling on the land more dangerous.
A year-end poll from Nanos suggests Canadians will want to see action from the Liberal government on major economic files in the new year.
City of Calgary officials say they have identified the location of what they are calling a second “catastrophic” water main break in the northwest in less than two years, but they do not have a timeline as to when it might be fixed.