The circulation sales for print newspapers were down 12 per cent from 2028 to 2020, but circulation sales for digital newspapers surged 43.6 per cent. In spite of the surge, digital circulation still accounted for a 12.5 per cent share of circulation sales overall. The Canadian newspaper industry has been receiving official assistance. New measures, introduced in 2019, include the Canadian journalism labour tax credit, which covers a portion of salary costs for eligible employees of qualified media organisations.

In 2021, advertising demand is expected to rebound significantly from 2020, and this should benefit the industry. However, demand for print advertising is not expected to increase to the same degree as demand for advertising in other media, including radio, television and the internet. The Canadian newspaper industry continues to face significant competition from other sources of news mainly online for advertising revenue. For these reasons, newspapers are not expected to see large revenue gains in 2021 compared with 2020, unlike many other industries, according to Statistics Canada.