In Canada, a television system is a group of television stations which share common ownership, branding and programming, but which for some reason does not satisfy the criteria necessary for it to be classified as a television network under Canadian law. As the term "television system" has no legal definition, and as most audiences and broadcasters usually refer to groups of stations with common branding and programming as "networks" regardless of their structure, the distinction between the two entities is often not entirely clear; indeed, the term is rarely discussed outside the Canadian broadcasting enthusiast community. In the latter regard, however, a group of Canadian stations is currently considered a "network" if it satisfies at least one of the following requirements:

• it operates under a network licence issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Four such networks currently operate: CBC Television, Ici Radio-Canada Télé, TVA, and the Quebec provincial network Noovo.
• it has at least near-complete national over-the-air coverage in Canada's major population centres. Three additional station groups meet this criterion: CTV, the Global Television Network and Citytv.