“The core rationale for the proposed merger is to create a new entity with reduced debt, national digital scale to compete with the global technology giants and economies of scale in the business model,” said MacLeod.
“The viability of the newspaper industry in Canada is at an extreme risk, especially in the small towns and communities that are important to this nation,” said Bitove. Nordstar owns the Toronto Star and Metroland Media Group, which has six daily newspapers in Ontario, including the Hamilton Spectator, Waterloo Region Record, Niagara dailies and Peterborough Examiner, as well as more than 60 community news outlets.
In 2017 Postmedia, Torstar and a Torstar subsidiary, Metroland Media Group, struck a deal to swap 41 community and small daily newspapers. The subsequent closure of many of the titles drew public complaints and the attention of the Competition Bureau. After an investigation, the bureau declined to take further action.