CKWD-FM's license was granted by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on May 24, 2012. On May 16, 2013, the Jim Pattison Group acquired
CKCE-FM from
Bell Media, as part of divestments from its purchase of
Astral Media; CKCE would move to the studio being built for the new station. The station officially launched as
CHPK-FM on April 25, 2014 with an
adult album alternative format as
95.3 The Peak. On February 29, 2016, CHPK flipped to
country branded as
Wild 95.3; the station's general manager Eric Stafford cited low interest and ratings for the station's AAA format as an impetus for the switch. He believed that
The Peak was unable to fully distinguish itself from its main competitor,
CFEX-FM, in order to remain competitive. The new
Wild format would compete mainly against the dominant
CKRY-FM; Stafford stated that
Wild would target a younger audience, and have a focus on newer material and fewer "throwback" songs. In October 2022, Pattison began to extend the
Wild brand to some of its other country stations, including Alberta's
CHAT-FM and
CHLB-FM, as well as
CHBZ-FM in
Cranbrook,
British Columbia. ==References==