The last 16 years have not been kind to local news outlets in Canada. This report creates a new dataset which tracks the 2,900 local news outlets in Canada whether radio, TV and print (whether newspaper or online). It tracks changes in those outlets back to 2008, down to the postal code level. It is used to determine net losses in media coverage in Canada and where they have occurred.
Devastation of the local print news industry: Since 2008, we’ve seen a net loss of 11 per cent of print media outlets (whether newspapers or online). This has meant the closure of roughly 25 print media outlets a year since 2014 but with the devastating net loss of 83 outlets in 2023 due to the Metroland bankruptcy and Métro Média closures in Quebec.
Private broadcasting is faring little better, but not by much: Private broadcasting local news outlets, whether TV or radio, have fared little better, with the net closure of nine per cent of local broadcast news outlets since 2008. The worst year on record was 2024, with the net loss of 14.5 private broadcasting outlets, driven by the decrease in CTV outlets and decreases in service and closure of several Corus stations.
2.5 million Canadians have almost no local news: The net result of these changes is that 2.5 million Canadians now live in a postal code with only one or no local news outlets. This accounts for seven per cent of Canadians, up from three per cent a decade and a half ago. However, the more common situation for most Canadians is that they have some local news coverage but are in a state of constant news deprivation.
All provinces/territories except Ontario saw declines in small town news: Smaller towns, those with less than 30,000 people, have seen one in 10 news outlets close in the past decade and a half. In all provinces and territories except Ontario, we’re seeing net losses of local news in towns with less than 100,000 people. Smaller communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, P.E.I., and Manitoba have seen the worst of it.
Newfoundland and Labrador seen cataclysmic losses of local print outlets: Outside of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador lost three quarters of their news sources in the past 16 years. These smaller communities and rural areas often had only a single local outlet, generally a newspaper. However, many of these papers have closed shop, leading to a 100 per cent decline in print outlets for those small towns.
News Deprivation Index in Canada’s 45 big cities and capitals: For the 45 cities with more than 140,000 people and all capital cities, we’ve created a news deprivation index to see if local news is keeping up to population growth. Here are the findings, at a glance:
- Three in five cities had a net loss of local news outlets while 11 per cent haven’t seen a change and 27 per cent of had a net gain.
- Broadly, the cities with the least news deprivation are regional hubs that produce broadcast content for the remainder of their province or territory. These include Yellowknife and Whitehorse, Saint John, N.B., St. John’s, NL, Charlottetown, P.E.I., where news content is re-aired on radio and TV repeater stations throughout those provinces and territories. Many of these have a strong public broadcasting presence.
- Broadly, the cities with the most news deprivation are the suburbs of larger centres: the suburbs in the Greater Toronto Area, Grand Montréal and Metro Vancouver populations have grown quickly but local news hasn’t kept pace or has declined. This is as true for public broadcasting as it is for private outlets.
- The Toronto suburb of Vaughan has seen the largest loss of local outlets. It houses a third of a million people yet has only one print outlet. It lost one of its two local papers in 2013 and saw a decrease in service at the other, the Vaughan Citizen, in 2023.
- Gatineau, Quebec, saw decreases in service or outright closure of many of its local print outlets.
- Edmonton lost a third of its local news outlets, spanning decreases in both public and private broadcasting as well as the outright closure of numerous print outlets in the city.
- Vaughan, Langley and Surrey experienced among the largest losses of local outlets and, partially as a result, they also have among the worst local news deprivation.
- Brampton, North Vancouver and Mississauga have made proportionally large gains in the number of local news outlets. Brampton had an average of two local news sources in 2008 and is up to four in 2024. Mississauga went from three outlets to four. But each house three quarters of a million people and the additional outlets aren’t nearly enough to cover the increase in population.
- On a rare bright side, Kelowna has gained news outlets and has a relatively low news deprivation.
Bottom line: The rate of local news deprivation across Canada is snowballing. This analysis demonstrates that the ad-funded local news model that has been dominant in Canada for more than a century is no longer viable. Despite efforts by the federal government to provide financial and regulatory supports for this model, the sector’s demise is accelerating.
New models of local journalism are necessary for a new century. One way to address this is through the expansion of public media, such as the CBC and/or community broadcasting. The federal government could also improve support for local print journalism, which has borne the brunt of media losses. One thing is certain: nature abhors a vacuum. If responsible local news coverage is lacking, social media will quickly fill the gap—often with misinformation.