Guelph Mercury halts print production

One of Canada’s oldest newspapers saw subscriptions fall to less than 9,000 homes

Metroland Media Group Ltd. announced Monday it will cease publishing the print edition of the Guelph Mercury. The last edition of the daily newspaper will be published on Friday.

The Guelph Mercury was established in 1867, the year of Canadian federation, and is one of the oldest broadsheet newspapers in Canada.

“This is indeed a sad day,” Donna Luelo, publisher of the Guelph Mercury, said. “The decision was not made lightly, but the decline of classified and national advertising in recent years has made it impossible for the printed copy of the daily newspaper to remain profitable.”

Also, the Mercury’s circulation has declined to fewer than 9,000 homedelivery subscribers as the way readers consume news has changed dramatically in recent years.

Closing the print edition was “the only viable option” in view of the newspaper’s poor financial performance and the rapidly evolving media landscape, Luelo added.

The closure of the print edition will affect 23 full-time and three parttime employees, including eight employees in the editorial department. Metroland Media Group will provide severance packages to the affected employees. Metroland has other newspaper and media properties in the area and there may be job opportunities for some staff members at those businesses.

While the print edition of the Guelph Mercury will be closed, the real-estate publication, Guelph and District Homes, and the lifestyle magazine Guelph Life will continue.

Metroland will continue to publish the Guelph Tribune, its twice-weekly community newspaper that reaches more than 40,000 households in Guelph and surrounding area and that also hosts the website guelphtribune.ca.

The Tribune will continue to report the news of the Guelph community and tell the stories of the people who live there.