Milestone Radio, a company incorporated by Denham Jolly, first applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for an urban contemporary music station in 1989.
[1][2] Jolly applied again in 1997, and was passed over in favour of CBLA, the Radio One station, which the CBC wanted to move to FM as it was leaving its longtime Toronto AM outlet, CBL.
[3][4] Both decisions sparked controversy in Toronto, a city with Canada's largest minority population but with no urban contemporary outlet.
The lack of an urban station also created difficulties for Canadian hip-hop, reggae and R&B musicians, who had no radio outlets in Canada to play and promote their music.
[12][13][14] Before the station became prominent in the Greater Toronto Area, many listeners would try to tune in to Buffalo, New York's WBLK, which has aired an urban contemporary format since the 1960s.
By 2009, with Rogers' relaunch of the Kiss Top 40 (CHR) format on CKIS, CFXJ shifted back towards an urban direction.
[15][16] CHUM previously had a joint venture with Milestone with CHBN-FM in Edmonton, which was later sold to Rogers Radio along with CHST-FM in London.
Upon the closure of the sale, many on the staff were laid off, all specialty programming was cancelled, and the station shifted back to a rhythmic contemporary format.
[17] CHUM's vice president of programming, David Corey, replaced Wayne Williams as PD and reshuffled the lineup.
In late 2014, influenced by the popularity of The Back in the Day Buffet noon-hour mix-show, as well as the growing popularity of the classic hip-hop format in the United States, the station revamped its playlist to include hip-hop hits, R&B and reggae tracks from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, while still playing some currents.
[33][34] A Stingray executive stated that the company had originally wanted to "[bring] Flow back to its roots as a community-driven station".
[34] On February 13, CFXJ began stunting with a self-described "random selection" of pop songs, interspersed with promos redirecting "Flow" listeners to CKFG, and sweepers stating that "Today" was "arriving tomorrow".
[35] The following day at midnight, CFXJ relaunched as 93.5 Today Radio, an adult hits format with a focus on topical discussions and interactions with listeners.
[a][38][39] The applications, which were opposed by a subsidiary of Evanov Communications, were denied in September 2023, on the grounds that they would have constituted a "service expansion" beyond the station's current licensed area.
[40] On August 29, 2024, at 10 a.m., CFXJ dropped the Today Radio format, with Stingray citing an inability to grow its audience.
[41][42] Evenings feature The Casey Clarke Show[41] from Penticton sister station CIGV-FM, hosted by the former CMT personality.