Canada’s newspaper industry has seen revenues plunge nearly a quarter since 2020 despite hundreds of millions in federal bailouts, according to new Statistics Canada data. Blacklock's Reporter says the report shows that taxpayer subsidies have failed to stop the steep decline in circulation, advertising, and profits.“The industry continues to face pressure from declining advertising and circulation revenues and shifting consumer habits in a competitive landscape alongside other online platforms,” said Statistics Canada in its Newspaper Publishers 2024 report. Industry profit margins fell to just 3.2%.Operating revenues across the sector dropped from $2.12 billion in 2020 to $1.61 billion in 2024 — a 24% collapse. Analysts noted that operating costs “remained a key concern for newspaper publishers.” .Circulation revenue fell 7.6% in two years, while digital revenues dropped 11.9%, with losses accelerating “at a faster pace” than earlier in the decade.Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada — the main lobby group for the subsidized press — told MPs on October 28 that publishers were unable to adapt their business models. “We still need print ads and fliers to support a newsroom of full-time journalists,” said Deegan.“You may ask, why don’t you just abandon print and go digital? With foreign tech giants streaming most of the digital ad dollars in the country, the economics of digital just don’t work for many.”“They cannot make a buck as a digital-only publisher,” he added. “If you want to cover cops, courts, city hall, etcetera, you need the advertising from the local Chevy dealer, from the flyer from the Canadian Tire franchise, to actually make money in this business and to support your newsroom. It’s vital.”.Parliament approved a $595 million newsroom bailout in 2019, intended as a temporary five-year program.“Of course, there will be news outlets, newspapers, that fail the transition and you can’t give them forever,” then-Publishers Association chair Bob Cox testified at the time. “There does need to be a deadline.”However, in 2023 cabinet renewed the subsidies with another $129 million. The program includes payroll rebates of up to $29,750 per newsroom employee each year.Even so, the Department of Canadian Heritage admitted the program has not saved jobs or journalism. “We have seen a significant decline in journalism,” testified Thomas Ripley, senior assistant deputy minister of heritage. “Notwithstanding those interventions, we continued to see a decline in news.”
