Canadian Publishing Industry News
9 November 2026,     TORONTO

Canadian magazine executive and philanthropist Bachir dead at 71

 

Salah Bachir
Salah Bachir
Salah Bachir, former President of Cineplex Media, has died at age 71. He led Cineplex’s Media Division for 15 years from 2005 to 2021, published Cineplex Magazine, and helped launch its Scene loyalty program. Arriving in Canada from Lebanon at age 10, he eventually founded several film-industry magazines, including Videomania and Famous Magazine. He left the theatre chain’s media division at the end of 2021 to lead Torstar’s Canadian entertainment and movie publication Star Cineplex.

9 November 2026,     TORONTO –

Major Canadian news publishers sue Anthropic

 
 A coalition of Canada’s largest newspapers is suing AI company Anthropic in an Ontario court. Postmedia, Toronto Star (Torstar), The Globe and Mail, and The Canadian Press, insist that Anthropic infringed on their copyright by using their content to develop its large language AI model, Claude. “Anthropic has capitalized on the commercial success of its AI models, building an expansive suite of services, and raised significant capital, all without obtaining a valid licence from any of the news media companies,” said the statement of claim. The lawsuit was filed on October 6, 2026, and the allegations have not yet been proven in court.

9 November 2026,     OAKVLLE

MacNeill named 2026 CCN Outstanding Columnist

Paul MacNeill
Paul MacNeill
 The Canadian Community Newsmedia Awards (CCN Awards) presented by News Media Canada, recognize outstanding English and French community publishing across editorial, photography, multimedia, and general excellence categories. The 2026 Outstanding Columnist Award went to Paul MacNeill of The Eastern Graphic in Montague, PEI. His columns on tourism, provincial politics, and healthcare, earned praise from the judges for their “fearless approach to challenging those in power.”

26 October 2026,     OTTAWA

New book details rifts between Freeland and Trudeau, Canada and Trump

 
 In Unreliable Boyfriend, former Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland delves into how her political relationship with then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went from a warm, face-to-face invitation into public service, to a Zoom call years later where he ended her finance role. She also discussed how they worked together on trade, management of the pandemic, and rollout of national childcare. The book’s title, however, actually refers to the United States under President Donald Trump – not Justin Trudeau.

26 October 2026,     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Canadian wins Nobel Prize for literature

Anne Carson
Anne Carson
 Toronto-born author, poet, and essayist Anne Carson, 76, has won the Nobel Prize for literature for her playful, genre-blending works that fuse the classical and the modern. Carson earned three University of Toronto degrees and is the second Canadian woman and first U. of T. alumna to win the international accolade, widely regarded as the world’s highest literary honour. Carson taught classics at several North American universities and lives in Reykjavík, Iceland, where she and her husband, Robert Currie, were granted citizenship in 2022.

26 October 2026,     OWEN SOUND

TC Transcontinental to close RBW Graphics

 

 
TC Transcontinental will permanently close its massive printing facility in Owen Sound, Ontario, at the end of January 2027, impacting over 360 jobs and ending an historic printing presence that spanned decades. Originally known as Richardson, Bond & Wright (RBW), the facility has long been one of Owen Sound’s largest private employers and a giant in the Canadian print-media sector. The plant has produced millions of retail flyers, major national magazines, and commercial print materials that were distributed across the country.

26 October 2026,     MONTRÉAL

Châtelaine launches Sur Invitation series

Camille Cardin-Goyer
Camille Cardin-Goyer
 Châtelaine has launched Sur Invitation, a new conversation series that brings portraits of remarkable women into a new format. The series opened recently with a 27-minute chat with Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette. Hosted by Châtelaine Editor-in-Chief Camille Cardin-Goyer, Sur Invitation delivers candid, wide-ranging discussions that explore the personal experiences, convictions, and ideas that influence its guests. For the full interview, translated into English, please click here: : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIqLQHLEVHM.

 

26 October 2026,     TORONTO

Webinar to explore AI solutions for magazines

 
A new hour-long Magazines Canada webinar November 5, 2026, will delve into AI productivity tools and automation for magazines. Host Christopher Smyth will reveal low-cost and no-cost productivity tools for small magazines that integrate easily with larger systems. From out-of-the-box tools to third-party automation to building AI as an automated assistant, participants will discover practical strategies and resources. Registration (members, free): https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8317310877891/WN_u58JcSTrRHqDB2jsX7Uzvg#/registration

26 October 2026,     TORONTO

Toronto Star tests new advertising model

Saturday Star, October 3, 2026
Saturday Star, October 3, 2026
The Toronto Star has tested a new advertising model that allows a brand to sponsor free access to its journalism. Sony Pictures underwrote a full day of unlimited access to thestar.com on Saturday, October 3, 2026, as part of a campaign supporting The Social Reckoning – a 2026 American biographical film and legal thriller written, co-produced, and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The new model packages print, digital, newsletters, and access to journalism, into a single sponsorship, giving advertisers “a broader role” than traditional advertising placements.

13 October 2026,     MICHIGAN

New e-publication helps local newsrooms

 
 The Economic Opportunity Lab has released a free new “playbook” to help local newsrooms report on the policies and places that shape economic mobility in their communities. The Lab is a partnership between the Local Media Association, Comcast NBCUniversal, and the Harvard-based research group Opportunity Insights, which brought together 48 local newsrooms and 10 NBC Telemundo stations across five regions to report on how place and policy are shaping access to opportunities, with the ultimate goal of driving economic mobility.

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Jaded says:
Wow, Torstar really seems to be on a mission to bankrupt one magazine after another....
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Full of terrific information, Thanks!...
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