Canadian Media Sources Guide
Introduction
“When local news disappears, misinformation thrives.” - The Walrus
This guide is maintained by a single person and may contain errors. Please suggest corrections for any fact-based news sources that should be included.
Inclusion Criteria
- High standards for journalistic integrity
- Funding from the Canadian Local Journalism Initiative
- Qualified donee status as a registered journalism organization
Media to Avoid 🚫
Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate that owns:
- Canada.com
- National Post
- Financial Post
- Calgary Herald
- Edmonton Journal
- Telegraph-Journal
- The London Free Press
- The Gazette
- Ottawa Citizen
- Sudbury Star
- Windsor Star
- Saskatoon StarPhoenix
- Regina Leader-Post
- Vancouver Sun
Sun Media
- Calgary Sun
- Edmonton Sun
- Ottawa Sun
- Toronto Sun
- Winnipeg Sun
Saltwire Network
- The Chronicle Herald
- Cape Breton Post
- The Telegram
- The Guardian (Charlottetown)
Canadian Alternatives 🇨🇦
Français ⚜️
| Les médias | Propriété | Type de propriété | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radio Canada | Patrimoine canadien (Gouvernement du Canada) | Gouvernement | TOU.TV L’EXTRA |
| TFO | Office des télécommunications éducatives de langue française de l’Ontario TFO (Gouvernement du Ontario) | Gouvernement | Don |
| Télé-Québec | Société de télédiffusion du Québec (Gouvernement du Québec) | Gouvernement | - |
| La Presse | La Presse Inc. | À but non lucratif, organisations journalistiques enregistrées | Don, CanaDon |
| L’Acadie Nouvelle | Acadie Nouvelle ltée. | À but non lucratif | Abonnement |
| Coop Media NB | NB Media Co-op | À but non lucratif | Don |
#### À but lucratif
| Les médias | Propriété | Type de propriété | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Devoir | Le Devoir Inc. | Organisations journalistiques enregistrées | Don |
English 🦄
Non-profit and Government Media
| Media | Ownership | Ownership type | Donate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBC News | Canadian Heritage (Government of Canada) | Government | CBC Gem Premium, CBC Shop |
| TVO | The Ontario Education Communications Authority (Government of Ontario) | Government | Donate |
| APTN News | APTN | Government | Contribute |
| Investigative Journalism Foundation | Investigative Journalism Foundation | Non-profit | Subscribe, IJF Shop |
| PressProgress | Broadbent Institute | Non-profit | Membership |
| Rabble.ca | Self-owned | Non-profit | Donate |
| Halifax Examiner | Self-owned | Non-profit | Subscribe, Donate |
| The Walrus | The Walrus Foundation | Non-profit, registered charity | Donate |
| The Narwhal | The Narwhal News Society | Non-profit, Registered journalism organization | Donate, CanadaHelps |
| Chek News | Employee-owned | Non-profit | Chekplus |
| The Tyee | Appears to be self-owned | Non-profit, Registered Journalism Organization (pending) | Donate |
| The Breach | Breach Media Canada | Non-profit | Donate |
| The Grind | Arts and Labour Media Inc. | Non-profit | Membership |
| Briarpatch | Briarpatch Inc. | Non-profit | Donate |
| West End Phoenix | West End Phoenix | Non-profit | Subscribe |
| The Local | The Local TO Publishing | Non-profit, Registered Journalism Organization | Donate |
| Unrigged News | Collaboration between non-profit outlets | Non-profit | - |
| Prince Albert Daily Herald | Employee-owned & operated | Non-profit | Subscription |
| NB Media Co-op | NB Media Co-op | Non-profit | Donate |
#### For-profit Media
| Media | Ownership | Ownership type | Donate/Subscribe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada’s National Observer | Observer Media Group | For-profit | Donate, Subscribe |
| The Canadian Press News | The Globe and Mail, Torstar | For-profit | - |
| The Globe and Mail | The Woodbridge Company | For-profit | Subscribe |
| Toronto Star | Torstar | For-profit | Subscribe |
| Reuters | Thompson family | For-profit | Subscribe |
| Global News | Corus Entertainment | For-profit | - |
| Winnipeg Free Press | FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership | For-profit | Donate |
| Canadaland | Appears to be self-owned | Appears to be for-profit | Patreon, Canadaland store |
| Cult MTL | Cult MTL Media Inc. | For-profit, Local Journalism Initiative recipient | Donate via Stripe |
| Spacing | Spacing Media | For-profit | Store |
Additional Resources
Political Commentary
News Aggregator
Organizations Countering Dark Money
Critical Thinking Resources
| Organization | Social Media |
|---|---|
| Centre for Inquiry Canada | YouTube |
| Humanist Canada | YouTube |
Honourable mention: The Conversation Canada, Australian owned, with a Canadian newsroom.
Image is licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0.
A little late to the party but there’s also the West End Phoenix and The Local
If magazines count, Spacing is a great one focused on urbanism.
Noted: but it’s getting late, so I’ll do it tomorrow! (p.s. I will also verify their background, as I do with all the others, so it’s not as simple as just adding them to the list).
My research found that West End Phoenix, The Local, and Spacing are all Canadian. But only West End Phoenix and The Local are non-profit (and therefore acquisition resistant), and are eligible to be featured on the infographic.
keep up the good work!
p.s. I’m secretly working on something more impactful… stay tuned.
The Torstar group - the Toronto Star - aren’t here - are they actually still Canadian?
Can you add theconversation.com/ca
https://theconversation.com/ca/who-we-are
Their Canadian newsroom is in Toronto, and all articles are editorials from Canadian institutions. They’re also non profit and a registered charity now.
The Conversation is high quality, except that it’s not Canadian owned, it’s Australian.
Saskatoon StarPhoenix and Regina Leader-Post newspapers are owned by Postmedia Network now and should also be in the Media to Avoid list. Great resource! It helped me curate my RSS feeds.
Is it surprising that the American owned media tend to be highly in favour of corporations?
The most promising counters to dark money:
- Democracy Watch
- The Investigative Journalism Foundation
- Council of Canadians
- Protecting Canada
- Canadians for Tax Fairness
- PressProgress
- Fair Vote Canada
- Bluesky Starter Pack: Ontario journalists that cover work & wage issues.
Obligatory, come join us over at !fairvote@lemmy.ca . We are trying to restore control of government back to the people!
