Industry Facts

Magazines Canada Members and Industry Profile

Magazines Canada is a national, non-profit association representing magazines across the country. The association’s members account for nearly 90% of paid magazine circulation in Canada, but also include magazines using other models of circulation (such as controlled). Our member magazines are published in both official languages.
 
Canada has a vibrant and culturally rich magazine industry with more than 2,300 titles and over 770 million copies in circulation to date. The industry employs more than 14,000 people (full- and part-time) including those working in printing and distribution, as well as 5,000 freelance writers, editors, photographers, designers and illustrators. The industry generates more than $2 billion in revenue annually, making a significant contribution to Canada's economic growth. Magazine publishers are located in all parts of Canada.  

Canadian-owned, Canadian-content magazines span a wide range of topics including business, news, politics, sports, arts and culture, leisure, lifestyles and the environment. Each Magazines Canada member magazine publishes over 80% Canadian-created content on average. Business models in the association range from single-employee magazines and not-for-profit organizations to large multi-title corporate structures. Most companies have added online platforms as extensions of their magazine brands.

Canadian magazines offer original, high-quality Canadian content, widely enjoyed by Canadian readers. In the 1960s, Canadian magazines captured approximately 20% of the domestic market; today, Canadian-owned, Canadian-content magazines capture roughly 41% of newsstand sales and 80% of all subscriptions sales in Canada. This makes Canadian-content magazines leaders in reaching Canadians among all cultural media.

Over the years, Canadian magazines have increased their share of the domestic readership market. The number of titles published in Canada has also risen. In 1960, there were 660 titles published in Canada. This number rose to 1,500 in the mid-1990s to over 2,300 titles today. At the same time, the "spill" of foreign magazines into Canada continues a multi-year pattern of decline attributed largely to Canadians' interest in magazines that are relevant to them.

Canada's magazine publishers are committed to increasing the readership of Canadian magazines through collective marketing programs. Visit our Circulation section for more information.