The channel shared its branding and the majority of its programming with its American counterpart, MSNBC.

In November 2000, Rogers Broadcasting Limited (on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated) (later incorporated as MSNBC Canada Corp. in partnership with Shaw and General Electric, then-owner of MSNBC) was granted approval for a television broadcasting licence by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) called MSNBC Canada, described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television service consisting of an innovative hybrid of Canadian and US breaking-news coverage, in-depth news analysis and long-form actuality programming.

However, after over two years on the air, the channel's owners announced its decision to shutter the service citing difficulties in operating a 24-hour breaking news service, which relied primarily on MSNBC programs, with then-current CRTC mandated Canadian content requirements, calling them "disruptive to subscribers and have proven to be financially burdensome beyond expectation".

[3] MSNBC Canada owners wished to shutter the service and replace it with the American feed instead, a process that would require CRTC approval.

[3] On December 18, 2003, a Rogers and Shaw application requesting MSNBC to be allowed to broadcast in Canada was made public[3] and was approved on September 16, 2004.