The collapse of local news is fuelling a disinformation crisis
By David Macdonald
Twice the proportion of Canadians today have little to no local news compared to 16 years ago—and as this loss accelerates, the threat of disinformation does too.
Since 2008, Canada has lost 11 per cent of its newspaper and online media outlets. Over that same period, nine per cent of private broadcasting outlets in radio and TV have also disappeared.
That’s an average loss of about 25 newspaper and online media outlets every year over the past decade. And it isn’t getting better: 2023 was an especially bad year, when 83 media outlets closed due to the bankruptcy of Metroland and the shutdown of Métro Média in Quebec. In 2024, 14.5 private broadcasting outlets closed.
Public broadcasters like CBC, Radio-Canada and TVOntario have not shrunk, but they haven’t grown to keep pace with the eight million more people who live in Canada today than did in 2008.
The consequences are real. Nearly 2.5 million Canadians now live in a postal code with only one—or no—local news outlet. In that vacuum, disinformation, often from social media, spreads unchecked.
Suburban cities outside Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have been hit particularly hard. Their residents may get coverage from nearby major centres, but there is little journalism focused on local councils, events and businesses.
Cities like Surrey, Vaughan, Mississauga, Markham, Brampton, Richmond, North Vancouver, Burnaby and Laval have grown rapidly, but local news has not kept pace.
In smaller cities and rural areas, the decline is even more widespread. All provinces and territories except Ontario have lost local news outlets, a trend that cuts off communities from trusted information about their own affairs.
Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba have seen significant losses, but the hardest hit is Newfoundland and Labrador, where small towns have lost three-quarters of their print outlets in just 16 years.
Why is this happening?
Part of the problem is media consolidation. As local coverage shrinks, larger companies buy up smaller outlets, often cutting programming and staff. When one of these companies falters, all of its properties are at risk—as seen in the recent collapse of Metroland and Métro Média.
But the deeper issue is economic. The traditional ad-funded business model that sustained private Canadian news outlets has been decimated by tech giants like Meta and Google, which now absorb the advertising revenue that once paid for reporters and editors.
Government efforts to regulate and support this model haven’t kept up. The result is a deepening crisis in local journalism.
The traditional business model is dying and must be replaced. But with what?
One solution is to expand public broadcasting. CBC and Radio-Canada could create new stations in suburban cities and underserved areas, filling the gap left by the private sector.
Another path is direct support for local journalism—through federal subsidies for print media or incentives to launch online-only news platforms backed by micro-targeted advertising.
Ottawa has started down this road, but the pace is far too slow to match the rate of newsroom closures.
Meanwhile, the threat is growing. Policy Horizons Canada, the federal government’s forecasting agency, recently warned that misinformation—and the rise of people who can’t distinguish fact from fiction—is one of the top 10 threats to Canadian stability.
The solution is more local news, not less. Without it, Canadians are left in the dark and disinformation steps in to light the way.
David Macdonald is a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
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