The first newspaper began publishing in Canada in 1752. The Halifax Gazette was followed by the Quebec Gazette in 1764, the Montreal Gazette in 1778 and Upper Valley Gazette in 1793.
The Montreal Gazette remains the oldest continuously-running newspaper in Canada.
Our friends at the Eganville Leader didn’t start publishing until 1902 and will stop at the end of February 2026 after a 124-year run. The Leader remains one of the oldest newspapers in Canada until February. While we compete with them, we will be saddened to see them stop publishing.
Our reporter Robert Fisher previously worked at The Saint Croix Courier which began in 1865 and was one of the oldest remaining papers in the country until it ceased publication in 2024.
Since 1752, hundreds of newspapers have come and gone in Canada. Over the past several years, owing to significant consolidation in the newspaper business, more have gone than come. More still have moved to be online-only which, for may people, doesn’t have the same appeal.
This week is National Newspaper Week. The News Media Canada website states, “National Newspaper Week is an annual opportunity to recognize the role newspapers and their sites play in providing Canada with credible, factual news and spotlight why news media continues to be a trusted source of information that is critical to our democracy.”
We would add that local newspapers are vital for small towns to remain informed about what is going on in their communities and provide local context on provincial and national issues. Consolidation in the newspaper business has led to a homogenization of perspectives. Local newspapers provide an independent voice not tied to a corporate agenda.
Newspapers were one of the top three platforms for consumer advertising preference in a 2024 study in the United States. So-called influencers were well down in 12th. More companies planned to increase online advertising budgets in 2025, despite consumers not preferring online ads. All demographics prefer offline advertising.
The Local News Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University shows that when a community loses its newspaper 58 per cent of people say they have fewer ties to the community, 61 report less knowledge of what’s happening at local government, schools and hospitals, 57 per cent participate less in local events and more than half, 54 per cent, say they have a reduced sense of caring for one another.
Fully 85 per cent of people report that local news is their most trusted news source, tied with local radio and well above national newspapers (71 per cent), national online news sites (62 per cent), local online news sites (71 per cent) and international online news sites (55 per cent). Local social media groups are trusted by just 46 per cent of people and news that appears on social media channels is only trusted by one quarter of people.
An October 2024 report in Publishing Insider states that newspapers remain the most trusted information source, “And that trust is especially pronounced among younger consumers.”
Large media outlets like the networks or big-city papers may show up for a significant event – recall how they descended on Quadeville earlier this summer – but they are not embedded in the community and don’t know the people. They don’t see you in the grocery store or at the hockey game. They come, then leave when the sensational part is over. We are still here.
The statistics show that smaller towns go into decline when the local newspaper stops publishing. People are less informed. They become more polarized and misinformation spreads, which often has the effect of widening divides even further.
Whether you buy a physical paper or subscribe online, local news remains important to communities like ours.
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