Private company

Metroland Media Group

Canadian news company in Ontario

Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than 70 local community newspapers.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

Feb 1981Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than 70 local community newspapers.2

Corporate structure

Metroland Media Group is part of a group headed by Torstar. 8 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Metroland is the publisher of daily and more than 70 community newspapers in Southern Ontario. Metroland also publishes local news. The company is a distributor of flyers and circulars. It produces specialty print products, magazines and newspaper inserts, which are geared toward specific market segments.

In February 1981, Metrospan Community Newspapers (a unit of Torstar) and Inland Publishing Company (formerly owned by The Telegram Corporation, owned by the Eaton and Bassett families) merged to become Metroland.

Metroland Publishing was combined with CityMedia Group to create Metroland Media Group on September 11, 2006. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. In October 2011, it was announced that Metroland acquired Performance Printing of Smiths Falls, Ontario. The acquisition greatly expanded Metroland's community newspaper coverage in Eastern Ontario.

In 2013, the company cut the frequency of three Toronto suburban newspapers, Scarborough Mirror, North York Mirror and Etobicoke Guardian, from twice a week to once a week.

On September 15, 2023, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and ceased production of all weekly community newspapers, moving to an online-only model.

From Wikipedia’s article on Metroland Media Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Business areas

Metroland's regional and specialized business units can be grouped into five categories: Newspapers, Printing, Distribution, Digital Media, and Consumer Marketing. After September 15, 2023, the physical printing and distribution of the newspaper unit has ended and moved online.

Consumer marketing

Digital marketing production

Expansion into customer fulfilment led to creation of a Metroland Digital division in 2008 to provide SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) with full-service online marketing capabilities such as fully custom websites, e-commerce websites, paid search (like Google Adwords), search engine optimization (SEO) as well as social media marketing and display advertising.

Consumer shows

Metroland produces consumer shows in Toronto for specialty audiences for Metroland Media Group publications. Metroland produces several consumer shows and exhibitions including the Toronto Golf & Travel Show, the National Bridal Show, the Forever Young Lifestyle Show, the City Parent Family Show and numerous local area shows.

From Wikipedia’s article on Metroland Media Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Feb 1981Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3