After the war he was deported to a Siberia by the Soviets where he was imprisoned in a forced labour camp for three years before being allowed to return to Hungary.

He and his parents fled Hungary, escaping over the border into Austria while carrying Charles in a backpack, in 1956 after the failure of the Hungarian Revolution.

His first professional radio job as an on-air personality began in 1974, when he hosted a weeknight rock show at CKXL in Calgary.

In 2011, he began to host a self-titled daily talk series on the Sun News Network that aired weeknights at 8:00 and 11:00 (ET) and ran until September 2013.

[10] Adler returned to hosting a daily talk show on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and was heard on weekends on 630 CHED in Edmonton and Newstalk 770 in Calgary.

Charles Adler Tonight was based at Global News Radio 980 CKNW in Vancouver where the show aired weeknights.

The show was also heard on Global News Radio 770 CHQR in Calgary, 630 CHED in Edmonton, in Winnipeg at 680 CJOB, CFMJ AM640 in Toronto, and CFPL AM980 in London.

"[19][18] Though Adler identified himself as a conservative for much of his broadcast career, and has even been described in media as "the closest Canada ever came to having its own Rush Limbaugh",[20] since 2019 he has stated that he has "parted ways" with conservatism and has been increasingly critical of the Conservative Party of Canada and its provincial affiliates, particularly over issues concerning Islamophobia and civil rights, and now considers himself a centrist.