When Florida's two million visiting Canadians want to hear news from home, they turn off the television and turn on Prior Smith.

Canada Calling, Smith's radio program, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, an eon in radio years.

Smith is the sole newscaster to take advantage of a winter visitor's market yearning for hockey scores, politics and the below zero weather in the Great White North.

''For a Canadian in Florida, you might as well be in Mars,'' said Smith, who wrapped up his winter Florida season last week and returned to Ontario. ``It's as if Canada doesn't exist, which is fine with me -- it's kept me paid for 25 years.''

Canada Calling follows the snowbird season -- from November to just after Easter. The next season starts Nov. 4 and ends April 13, 2003.

The daily 5 ½-minute English broadcast helps visiting Canadians smile at their wisdom in spending extended time in Florida, Smith said.

Entire restaurants go silent when the 57-year-old ''voice of Canada'' comes on the air.

''It's the only way right now, other than the computer, to get Canada news,'' said Gerry Brissenden, treasurer of the Canadian Snowbird Association. Brissenden said Smith continues to fill a void left by the defunct weekly paper, Canada News.

``We still listened to Canada Calling because you got the fresh news. That's the beauty of it.''

That fact isn't lost on South Florida's tourist destinations and grocery stores like Publix, which have advertised on the show since it began.

''We know that significant numbers of people are paying attention to what Prior Smith says,'' said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. ``We use his knowledge and expertise. We consider him to be a very good, a very wise friend.''

Smith's show is listed on the Broward County tourism website, and he promotes South Florida by hosting shows on the beach or during festivals.

Starting the first Monday in November, folks in this region can tune in to Smith at 8:50 a.m. daily on WBZT (1230 AM). This season, he was carried on 24 Florida stations, as well as stations in Arizona and Texas, where another one million Canadians spend the winter. The show is advertised in Canadian newspapers.

Canada Calling started in the 1950s under Canadian creator Dave Price, a sportscaster. When Price died in 1978, the show was sold to another man. It was that second owner who spurred Smith into creating a competing newscast. Eventually, Smith's show became more popular and he took on the name Canada Calling.

The show is broadcast via satellite from the Florida's Radio Networks, with the help of computer equipment that's traveled to almost every part of the state.

The first November broadcasts sometimes originate from the Florida State Fair and migrate along back roads and main highways until reaching Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

When not in Florida, Smith does the show from his home near Clear Lake in Peterborough, Ontario. From there, about every week or so he flies to Orlando, rents a car, throws in his portable radio equipment and gets trucking.

Smith boasts knowing more about Florida's backwoods than most Floridians. He's also proud that in a quarter-century, he's never missed a day of work, taken a dip or swung a golf club in Florida. These visits are strictly business, Smith said.

Smith is one of a handful of prime news sources for Canadian tourists, who typically stay in Florida longer than other tourists.

Charles Doering, 74, is a regular listener and a former colleague. Though the two well-known broadcasters haven't spoken in at least a decade, Doering looks forward to hearing Smith's familiar voice.

''You tune into Miami stations and you won't get Canadian news,'' said Doering, a regular Fort Lauderdale snowbird. ``Prior really keeps in touch with us.''

Both Doering and Smith worked at Canadian radio station CFRB in its heyday, said Mario Carlicchi, CFRB's executive producer.

In the summer, Smith fixes antique boats, researches the history of the Negro Baseball Leagues and sells ads for the next year.

A creature of 25 years of radio habit, Smith taps out his show each night on an ancient silver and black Underwood typewriter. He's in bed by 10 p.m. and wakes up at 5 a.m..

Occasionally, Smith is asked how he got his distinctive first name -- the maiden name of his great-great-grandmother. ``My last name is Smith. My dad's name is John Smith. My mother had to do something.''