Johnny Lombardi is considered the pioneer of Canadian multicultural radio, writes toronto1.one. This is quite true, as it was he who founded the famous radio station CHIN in 1966.

Early years

Johnny was born in the heart of Toronto on December 4, 1915, in a family of Italian immigrants.

The future entrepreneur began his career in music, playing in an orchestra that was very popular in Ontario at the time.

When the Second World War broke out, he began serving in the Canadian Army. He reached the rank of sergeant, and during the war, he entertained his fellow soldiers by playing various compositions on the trumpet.

Own business

He returned to Toronto in 1946 and immediately started thinking about starting his own business.

In 1948, he opened a supermarket called Lombardi’s Supermarket.

Later, he began producing a one-hour Italian music program on CHUM. Using the opportunity of his program, he publicly advertised his own supermarket.

It’s fair to say that the program was quite successful, so the store prospered as well.

Johnny’s business gained momentum and this allowed him to reach a new level. He began promoting sports and concert events.

Creating a Radio Station

It is interesting that our hero was a supporter of such a phenomenon as multiculturalism. This led him to create the first multilingual Canadian radio station. As you may have guessed, it is CHIN. Johnny founded it in 1966. By 1968, the station was broadcasting in thirty-two languages! But, of course, Italian programs still prevailed.

Thanks to this radio station, many ethnic groups in Canada had the opportunity to listen to interesting programs in their mother tongue. In particular, in addition to Italian, they broadcast Latin American and Asian programs. These included news, educational programs and various talk shows.

An unusual interpretation

It is important to note that our hero later became a host of Italian programs as well.

Johnny also became popular as a businessman, organizing numerous CHIN picnics.

Interestingly, the businessman himself even reinterpreted the meaning of the name of his own station for these events.

For example, he noted that the letter C stands for Canada, H for Happiness, and I and N for International. In other words, CHIN means happiness to live in Canada, a country with a multicultural international environment..

A failed attempt

It’s fair to say that when municipal elections were held in 1969, our hero decided to run for Toronto City Council. Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful and Johnny received less than two hundred votes. This led to his defeat.

Family and an interesting nickname

As for the family life of the businessman, it should be noted that he was very happy in his marriage. Johnny and his wife Lena had three children – a son and 2 daughters.

It is worth mentioning that he was known by the nickname “Mr. Toronto”. He also liked to wear baseball caps in his everyday life.

The End of the Earthly Journey

Johnny’s earthly journey ended on March 18, 2002.

It is worth mentioning that he died after a short illness.

When a memorial service was held in a Toronto church on March 25, it was attended by a large number of people, including respected politicians. They all honored the memory of the famous entrepreneur and unanimously agreed that he was the founder of Toronto’s multicultural radio.

Of course, it is hard to disagree. After all, thanks to the fact that Johnny’s radio station broadcast programs in thirty languages, marginalized people and newcomers could feel quite comfortable and gradually get acquainted with the new country.

In addition, these programs helped people to acclimatize and integrate. Johnny’s radio station also helped Canadian talents realize their musical and creative potential.

Photo: digitalarchive.tpl.ca