OPINION: Flyers disappear thanks to Canada Post deal

Community newspapers in Canada can't compete with agreement TC has struck with Crown corporation. Where are my flyers? It's a question I've been asked hundreds of times on my travels around town, on the phone and by readers stopping by our office since the beginning of July. The answer is layered, and its genesis begins in Montreal in 2012, when the Competition Bureau approved an asset swap between Montreal-based TC Transcontinental and UK printing company Quad, the result of which was TC solidifying a dominant position on flyer printing across Canada. TC then formed a strategic partnership with Canada Post that reportedly saw it receive distribution rates considerably lower than what's offered to community newspapers throughout Canada. Another kneecapping by Canada Post to community newspapers was its unilateral decision in 2024 to repeal the exemption of newspapers with commercial inserts (flyers) from Canada Post's Consumers' Choice program, which allows residents to opt out of receiving 'junk mail.' Transcontinental not only controls nearly all commercial flyer printing in Canada, but for many of these print clients, TC's subsidiaries are also the agencies that effectively decide where and how these flyers are distributed. As a result of all of the above, Transcontinental has recently expanded the distribution of its flyer package, RADDAR, earlier this summer into more markets across Canada, including here in Okotoks. What does all of this mean for community newspapers across Canada? In short, it means we're competing with a company that has, in my opinion, a monopolistic position on printing and distributing flyers across a huge swath of the country that is receiving a rate from a Crown corporation, which also distributes flyers outside of RADDAR, that is heavily discounted compared to the rates offered to community news publishers. We also rely on Canada Post to deliver the Wheel, especially in more rural areas of Foothills County, yet we pay considerably more to deliver our newspaper than TC does to deliver flyers in RADDAR, which has no community news. It should be noted that Canada Post has posted losses north of $4 billion since 2021, while paying out 'performance bonuses' to executives and management totalling $30.8 million in fiscal year 2025. Where does that leave us today? In essence, the Wheel and other community newspapers in Canada are now competing with a money-hemorrhaging Crown corporation that is effectively subsidizing our competition. What should also be understood is that several of the local flyer customers here in Okotoks and Foothills County are franchisees of national retailers, and don't really have a choice of how their flyers can be distributed. Plainly speaking, money is being sucked out of our communities and sent to Quebec, a concept that I'm sure many Albertans are familiar with, to a company that contributes nothing to our local communities. They're not covering town or county councils, graduations, Light Up Okotoks, Okotoks Show and Shine, and the list goes on. They're certainly not fundraising over $100,000, as the Wheel did in 2025 for our Western Wheel Cares, in support of seven local charities. Despite all of this, we soldier on. These are far from the first headwinds we've experienced as an industry and partner in our communities. Throughout my nearly 20 years in community publishing, I've been through the Great Recession of 2008, the pandemic and the implementation of Bill C-18 (Online News Act), which despite the federal government's intentions, effectively banned our content from the two largest social media networks in Facebook and Instagram. This month is the Wheel's 50th anniversary. Throughout our first 50 years, we've experienced change, both within the industry and in the communities we serve. Despite everything, we're going to be here for another 50 and continue to be a living history of our communities. Curtis Armstrong is publisher of the Western Wheel and Cochrane Eagle.