View source for Winnipeg Free Press

{{Short description|Canadian newspaper}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name               = Free Press
| logo               = The Free Press, Winnipeg (2025-07-30).svg
| image              = Winnipeg Free Press.jpg
| image_size         = 220px
| caption            = Front page – January 11, 2007
| type               = Daily [[newspaper]]
| format             = [[Broadsheet]]
| owners             = FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership
| founder            = [[William Fisher Luxton]]
| president          = Mike Power
| editor             = Paul Samyn
| staff_writers      =
| founded            = {{Start date|1872|11|30}}
| political_position = 
| language           = 
| ceased_publication = 
| headquarters       = 1355 Mountain Avenue<br />[[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]]<br />R2X 3B6
| readership         = 194,000 weekdays<br/> 270,000 Saturdays, print and digital (as of Vividata SCC {{!}} Spring 2025)
| sister_newspapers  = ''[[Brandon Sun]]''
| ISSN               = 0828-1785
| oclc               = 1607085
| website            = {{URL|winnipegfreepress.com}} 
}}
[[File:Winnipeg-Free-Press-Logo.svg|thumb|Logo in 2012]]
The '''''Free Press''''' (or '''FP'''; founded as the '''''Manitoba Free Press'''''; previously known as the '''''Winnipeg Free Press''''') is a daily (excluding Sunday) [[broadsheet]] [[newspaper]] in [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], 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 became part of Canada, in 1870. The WFP's founding predated Winnipeg's own incorporation, in 1873.<ref name="History"/><ref name="MBAct">{{cite web|title=Manitoba Act 1870|url=http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1870/1870-08-manitoba-act.html|publisher=Canadahistoryproject.ca|access-date=August 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1874 Winnipeg's First Council Meeting|url=https://winnipeg.ca/History/Council1874.stm|publisher=City of Winnipeg|access-date=December 28, 2019}}</ref> The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' has since become the oldest newspaper in [[Western Canada]] that is still active.

==Timeline==
'''November 30, 1872:''' The ''Manitoba Free Press'' was launched by [[William Luxton|William Fisher Luxton]] and John A. Kenny.<ref name="History">{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/history.html|work=Winnipeg Free Press|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref> Luxton bought a press in [[New York City]] and, along with Kenny, rented a shack at 555 [[Winnipeg Route 52|Main Street]], near the present corner of Main Street and James Avenue.<ref name="MHS">{{cite web|title=Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba Free Press)|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/business/freepress.shtml|last=Goldsborough|first=Gordon|date=11 April 2020|website=Manitoba Historical Society|orig-year=19 November 2011|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref>

'''1874:''' The paper moved to a new building on Main Street, across from St. Mary Avenue.<ref name="MHS"/>

'''1882:''' Control of the ''Free Press'' was passed on to [[Clifford Sifton]].<ref name="MHS"/> The organization subsequently moved to a building on McDermot Avenue, where it would remain until 1900.<ref name="MHS" />

'''1900''': The paper moved to a new address on McDermot Avenue at Albert Street.<ref name="MHS"/>

'''1901:''' [[John Wesley Dafoe]] served as president, [[editor-in-chief]], and editorial writer for the ''WFP'' until 1944.<ref name="MHS"/>

'''1905:''' The newspaper moved to a four-storey building at [[Winnipeg Route 85|Portage]] and Garry.<ref name="MHS"/>

[[File:Winnipeg Free Press Building.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Historic ''Free Press'' building on Carlton]]

'''1913:''' The newspaper moved to 300 Carlton Street and would remain there for 78 years.<ref name="MHS"/>

'''1920:''' The ''Free Press'' took its newsprint supplier before the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] for violating the [[War Measures Act]] during [[World War I]]. The newspaper won the case, known as ''[[Fort Frances Pulp and Paper v Manitoba Free Press]]'', as the court determined that whether the [[state of emergency|state of national emergency]] continued after the war was a political matter for [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite BAILII|litigants=Fort Frances Pulp and Paper v Manitoba Free Press|link=Fort Frances Pulp and Paper v Manitoba Free Press|court=UKPC|year=1923|num=64|format=1|juris=Ontario|parallelcite=[1923] AC 695, [1923] UKPC 64|date=25 July 1923}}</ref>

'''February 21, 1923:''' [[Harry Houdini]] was placed in the straight jacket by two city police officers and then hoisted by his feet with pulleys to 30 feet above the sidewalk off the side of the Winnipeg Free Press Building. The paper ran an amateur photo contest with impressive cash prizes of $15, $10 and $5 for the three best images of the escape. The contest would be won by [[L. B. Foote]], who went on to chronicle events for the Free Press for two decades.<ref>Winnipeg Free Press. “Great Escapes.” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 Sept. 2013, https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2013/09/21/great-escapes. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.</ref>

'''December 2, 1931:''' The paper was renamed the ''Winnipeg Free Press''.<ref name=MHS/>

'''1991:''' The ''Free Press'' moved to its current location in the Inkster Industrial Park, a {{CAD|150 million|link=yes}} plant<ref name=History /> at 1355 Mountain Avenue.<ref name=MHS/>[[File:Rear Side of Winnipeg Free Press Building.jpg|thumb|right|264x264px|Former newspaper headquarters on Carlton Street]]'''December''' '''2001:''' The ''Free Press'' and its sister paper, ''[[Brandon Sun]]'', were bought from [[The Thomson Corporation|Thomson Newspapers]] by FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership.<ref name="History" />

== Strike ==
In 2008, at noon on [[Thanksgiving (Canada)|Thanksgiving Day]] (Monday, October 13), about 1,000 members of the [[Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada|Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union]], representing editorial, advertising, circulation, and press staff, as well as [[paperboy|newspaper carriers]], launched a [[strike action]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Winnipeg Free Press strike continues|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-free-press-strike-continues-1.704057|work=[[CBC News]]|access-date=December 28, 2019|date=October 14, 2008}}</ref> The strike ended 16 days later, when the union ratified the final offer on Tuesday, October 28.<ref>{{cite web|title=Free Press strike ends|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/33509554.html|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press|access-date=December 28, 2019|date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> The contract was ratified by 67% of newspaper carriers, 75% of the pressmen, and 91% of the inside workers, including journalists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Winnipeg Free Press strike ends|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-free-press-strike-ends-1.727499|work=[[CBC News]]|access-date=December 28, 2019|date=October 28, 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/free-press-workers-ratify-new-contract-202967461.html|work=Winnipeg Free Press|access-date=December 28, 2019|date=April 15, 2013|title=Free Press workers ratify new contract}}</ref>

== Circulation ==
As of November 1, 2009, the ''WFP'' ceased publishing a regular Sunday edition. In its place, a Sunday-only [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] called ''On 7'' was launched, but it has since been discontinued.

On March 27, 2011, the impending arrival of [[Metro International|Metro]] in the Winnipeg market caused the Sunday newspaper to be retooled as a [[broadsheet]] format, ''Winnipeg Free Press SundayXtra''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sunday-free-press-is-bigger-better-118700704.html|work=Winnipeg Free Press|title=Sunday Free Press is bigger, better|date=March 26, 2011}}</ref> The Sunday edition is now available exclusively online.

According to figures via [[Canadian Newspaper Association]], the ''Free Press''<nowiki/>' average weekday circulation for 2013 was 108,583, while on Saturdays it was 144,278.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspaperscanada.ca/sites/default/files/2013-Daily-Newspapers-Circulation-Report-FINAL.pdf|title=2013 Daily Newspapers Circulation Report|publisher=Newspapers Canada|access-date=July 16, 2014}}</ref> Because of the relatively small population of Manitoba, that meant that over 10% of the population could be receiving the paper and its advertisements. Like most [[List of newspapers in Canada#Daily newspapers|Canadian daily newspapers]], the ''Free Press'' has seen a decline in [[newspaper circulation|circulation]], dropping its total by {{formatnum: {{#expr: abs(100 - (106473 / 127903 * 100)) round 0}}}}%  to 106,473 copies daily from 2009 to 2015.<ref name="Circulation Chart">{{cite web|url=https://nmc-mic.ca/about-newspapers/circulation/daily-newspapers/|title=Daily Newspaper Circulation Data|work=News Media Canada|access-date=December 16, 2017}} Figures refer to the total circulation (print and digital combined), which includes paid and unpaid copies.</ref>

:::::::::'''Daily average'''<ref name="Circulation Chart"/>
{{#invoke:Chart | bar chart
| height = 270
| width = 360
| group 1 = 127903:127305:117913:113251:114532:110572:106473
| colors = Darkcyan
| units suffix = Copies
| group names = 
| x legends = 2009:2010:2011:2012:2013:2014:2015
}}

As of 2023, the ''Winnipeg Free Press'' media kit claims that 1.15 million users visit the newspaper's network of sites each month, and that in Winnipeg, 439,000 adults read the publication in print or digital format each week.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Free Press Media Kit – Winnipeg Free Press |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/mediakit |publisher=Winnipeg Free Press |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>

==Notable staff==

* [[John Wesley Dafoe]] 1901-1944, president, editor-in-chief, & wrote influential editorials 
* [[Charles Edwards (journalist)|Charles Edwards]] (1928 – early-1930s): journalist and news agency executive<ref>{{cite news|title=Charles Edwards of Broadcast News retires|agency=[[The Canadian Press]]|date=August 13, 1971|newspaper=[[The Brandon Sun]]|location=Brandon, Manitoba|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-aug-13-1971-3227701/}}{{free access}}</ref>
* [[Bartley Kives]] (2000–2016): arts and news writer; left to join [[CBWT-DT]] as a television journalist.
* [[Vince Leah]] (1980–1993): journalist, writer, sports administrator and member of the Order of Canada<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/leah_v.shtml|title=Memorable Manitobans: Vincent 'Vince' Leah (1913–1993)|last=Goldsborough|first=Gordon|date=April 27, 2021|website=[[Manitoba Historical Society]]|access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.winnipegregionalrealestateboard.ca/community/citizens-hall-of-fame/inductee/25/Vince-Leah|title=Vince Leah: Journalist|year=1994|website=Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board|access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Bob Moir]] (1948–1958): television producer, sports commentator, and journalist<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cfhof.ca/members/bob-moir/|title=Bob Moir: Class of 1985|year=1985|website=[[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]]|access-date=May 1, 2022}}</ref>
* [[Hal Sigurdson]] (1951–1963; 1976–1996): columnist and sports editor from 1976 to 1989<ref>{{cite news|title=A bit of an icon as a sports editor|last1=Prest|first1=Ashley|last2=Campbell|first2=Tim|agency=|date=January 18, 2012|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=22|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-18-2012-3048196/}}{{free access}}</ref>
* [[Maurice Smith (journalist)|Maurice Smith]] (1927–1937; 1940–1976): columnist and sports editor from 1944 to 1976<ref name="Free-Press-obituary">{{cite news|title=Former FP Sports Editor, Maurice Smith, dead at 75|date=February 21, 1985|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=51|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-feb-21-1985-3028656/}}{{free access}}</ref>
* [[Scott Young (writer)|Scott Young]] (1936–1940): sports writer from 1936 to 1940<ref>{{cite web|title=Scott Young|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/scott-young}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of newspapers in Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Ramsay |title=The politics of John W. Dafoe and the Free Press. |date=1963 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-8020-5119-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofjohnwd0000cook |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Merrill |first1=John Calhoun |title=The world's great dailies : profiles of fifty newspapers |date=1980 |publisher=Hastings House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8038-8095-5 |pages=351–365 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldsgreatdaili0000merr |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Paterson |first1=Edith |title=Tales of early Manitoba from the Winnipeg Free Press |date=1970 |publisher=Winnipeg Free Press |location=Winnipeg|url=https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OE79R_U}}

==External links==
* {{official website}}

{{FP Canadian Newspapers}}
{{Canadian journalism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Newspapers published in Winnipeg]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1872]]
[[Category:Daily newspapers published in Manitoba]]
[[Category:1872 establishments in Manitoba]]