The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday)

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as current events in sports, business, and entertainment and various consumer-oriented features, such as homes and automobiles appear on a weekly basis. The WFP was founded in 1872, only two years after Manitoba had joined

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

(1870), and predated Winnipeg's own incorporation (1873). The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' has since become the oldest newspaper in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

that is still active. Though there is competition, primarily with the print daily tabloid ''

Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its acquisition of Sun Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun tabloids, including an emphasis on local news st ...

'', the WFP has the largest readership of any newspaper in the province and is regarded as the

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

for Winnipeg and the rest of Manitoba.

Timeline

November 30, 1872: The ''Manitoba Free Press'' was launched by William Fisher Luxton and John A. Kenny. Luxton bought a press in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and, along with Kenny, rented a shack at 555 Main Street, near the present corner of Main Street and James Avenue. 1874: The paper moved to a new building on Main Street, across from St. Mary Avenue. 1882: Control of the ''Free Press'' was passed on to

Clifford Sifton Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount ...

. The organization subsequently moved to a building on McDermot Avenue, where it would remain until 1900. 1900: The paper moved to a new address on McDermot Avenue at Albert Street. 1901:

John Wesley Dafoe John Wesley Dafoe (8 March 1866 – 9 January 1944) was a Canadian journalist. From 1901 to 1944 he was the editor of the '' Manitoba Free Press'', later named the ''Winnipeg Free Press''. He also wrote several books, including a biography of Sir W ...

served as president,

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

, and editorial writer for the WFP until 1944. 1905: The newspaper moved to a four-storey building at

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

and Garry. Winnipeg Free Press Building

1913: The newspaper moved to 300 Carlton Street and would remain there for 78 years. 1920: The ''Free Press'' took its newsprint supplier before the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

for violating the

War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The newspaper won the case, known as ''

Fort Frances Pulp and Paper v Manitoba Free Press A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

'', as the court determined that whether the state of national emergency continued after the war was a political matter for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. 1931: The paper was renamed the ''Winnipeg Free Press''. 1991: The ''Free Press'' moved to its current location in the Inkster Industrial Park, a plant at 1355 Mountain Avenue. Rear Side of Winnipeg Free Press Building

Rear Side of Winnipeg Free Press Building

December 2001: The ''Free Press'' and its sister paper, ''

Brandon Sun ''The Brandon Sun'' is a Monday through Saturday newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. It is the primary newspaper of record for western Manitoba and includes substantial political, crime, business and sports news. ''The Brandon Sun'' also publi ...

'', were bought from

Thomson Newspapers The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organisation Ltd (ITOL) and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to fo ...

by FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership.

Strike

In 2008, at noon on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

(Monday, October 13), about 1,000 members of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, representing editorial, advertising, circulation, and press staff, as well as newspaper carriers, launched a

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...

. The strike ended 16 days later, when the union ratified the final offer on Tuesday, October 28. The contract was ratified by 67% of newspaper carriers, 75% of the pressmen, and 91% of the inside workers, including journalists. The recent five-year contract was negotiated, ratified, and signed in 2013, with no threat of a strike. Workers and managers negotiated directly with great success, without the need of a lawyer that previous contracts had required.

Circulation

As of November 1, 2009, the ''WFP'' ceased publishing a regular Sunday edition. In its place, a Sunday-only tabloid called ''On 7'' was launched, but it has since been discontinued. On March 27, 2011, the impending arrival of

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

in the Winnipeg market caused the Sunday newspaper to be retooled as a

format, ''Winnipeg Free Press SundayXtra''. The Sunday edition is now available exclusively online. According to figures via

Canadian Newspaper Association The Canadian Newspapers Association (CNA) was a national trade association for newspaper publishers in Canada from 1996 to 2016. It represented the publishers of over 100 Canadian daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication co ...

, the ''Free Press''' average weekday circulation for 2013 was 108,583, while on Saturdays it was 144,278. Because of the relatively-small population of Manitoba, that meant that over 10% of the population would be looking at the paper and advertisements. Like most Canadian daily newspapers, the ''Free Press'' has seen a decline in circulation, dropping its total by % to 106,473 copies daily from 2009 to 2015. Figures refer to the total circulation (print and digital combined), which includes paid and unpaid copies. :::::::::Daily average

Notable staff

* Charles Edwards (1928 to early-1930s): journalist and news agency executive *

Vince Leah Vincent Leah (November 29, 1913August 9, 1993) was a Canadian journalist, writer and sports administrator. He wrote for ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' from 1930 to 1980, and was credited with giving the Winnipeg Blue Bombers their team's name. He es ...

(1980 to 1993): journalist, writer, sports administrator and member of the Order of Canada *

Bob Moir Robert Munro Moir (1929December 18, 2016) was a Canadian television producer, sports commentator, and journalist. He covered the Canadian Football League for the ''Winnipeg Free Press'' from 1948 to 1958, then worked more than 40 years for the ...

(1948 to 1958): television producer, sports commentator, and journalist *

Hal Sigurdson Harold Bjorn Sigurdson (July 1, 1932January 16, 2012) was a Canadian sports journalist. He started writing for the ''Winnipeg Free Press'' in 1951, then covered the Canadian Football League as a writer, television commentator, and radio host. H ...

(1951 to 1963, 1976 to 1996): columnist and sports editor from 1976 to 1989 * Maurice Smith (1927 to 1937, 1940 to 1976): columnist and sports editor from 1944 to 1976

References

External links

''Winnipeg Free Press'' site
{{Authority control Newspapers published in Winnipeg Publications established in 1872 Daily newspapers published in Manitoba 1872 establishments in Manitoba