Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in October 2007,[1] the station was scheduled to launch in 2008, but it officially began broadcasting in 2009.
The callsign CHOW was previously used by a radio station in Welland, Ontario from 1957 to 2005, now known as CIXL-FM.
[2] The station is a member of the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec.
On July 22, 2020, Radio Boreale submitted two applications to add two new FM transmitters to serve La Sarre at 106.1 MHz and Rouyn-Noranda at 104.9 MHz.
[7] On September 20, 2023, both applications by Radio Boréale to add new FM transmitters to serve La Sarre at 106.1 MHz and Rouyn-Noranda at 104.9 MHz were denied by the CRTC.