The Federal Conservatives will most likely win the 2025 Federal election.
That won't help CBC's funding much either.

Good points mace, and I agree with all of them.  It is really the English TV network that has the issues of not being popular.  As you mentioned Radio-Canada and CBC Radio One do fine, as does the French radio network.

Radio-Canada has always been more mainstream and less politically correct than the English network.  The English network with their entertainment programming often tries too hard to be progressive and frankly too political. Overall their comedies and some dramas seemed forced and occupied with what I like to say "teaching moments".

Entertainment programming should be just that, and not lectures on diversity, multiculturalism, equality, what it is to be Canadian etc.  That's why you have news, documentaries and public affairs programming for those topics.

CBC programming often doesn't do that well against CTV's or Global and City TV domestic programming either.  However CBC does have a few popular shows like Son Of A Critch, Heartland and the tired Murdoch Mysteries.  Family Feud Canada occasionally does reasonably well in the ratings or so I am told. 
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CBC does do some things very well.  Their weekend afternoon sports programming is excellent, but since it focuses a lot on qualifying events for winter and summer olympics, this is ignored by the viewer. Too bad since they have excellent commentators and coverage, and most of the events are exciting to watch and a nice change from professional sports.

CBC's children's programming has always been well respected and shown in other countries for decades. The network should do better in news and gets clobbered by CTV National News.  Their cable news network overall is not bad in my opinion.  I have no idea how CTV, CBC news channels or CP24 do ratings wise. 

The CBC is the victim of the same type of criticisms that have plagued public broadcasters from Australia to Zambia for over the past half-century - bias, inaccuracy, bloated management, etc. This problem has been exacerbated by social media, which allows every two-bit knucklehead with modem and a fake name to spew vitriol with few, if any, consequences. Add to that ideologically driven media outlets (see Post, National) and tinhorn politicians (see P,P) looking to score cheap points, and you've got a recipe for the current climate facing Mother Corp., particularly since CBC journalists and execs are strongly discouraged from clapping back in the face of misinformation.

This isn't to say that the CBC doesn't hand its opponents cudgels from time to time to beat them up (see Tait, Catherine) on the basis of dumb decisions. But everytime I hear about it's entertainment shows being "too political" and "lecturing" people, I often wonder why these critics never cite any specific examples, always deferring to vague points like "tone" and "attitude". The fact is, most CBC entertainment programming is designed for both domestic and international consumption (just as it is with Global, CTV and Rogers) and is hardly full of propaganda. This is of course with the exception of that now departed commie Ernie Coombs, who cohabitated with a child of uncertain gender and a dog and who taught children socialist ideas like sharing, being nice to other people and being kind to animals (see sarcasm, definition of)

Is the CBC perfect? Hell no. On it's worst days, it's self-absorbed, pompous and occasionally foolish. But on it's best days (election nights, the Quebec referendums, Anne of Green Gables, sports coverage, Dragons' Den. Schitt's Creek) it offers a valuable counterpoint to the stream of unrealistic cop shows, celebrity gossip and infotainment being offered on our private networks and from south of the border. In my mind, it's worth keeping.