The Globe and Mail

Is The Globe and Mail owned by another company?
Yes, The Globe and Mail is owned by the Thomson family through their private holding company Woodbridge Company. Woodbridge acquired full control of the newspaper in 2010, purchasing an 85% stake from BCE Inc. and subsequently acquiring the remaining 15%. The Thomson family has been involved with The Globe and Mail since 1980, when Kenneth Thomson led the acquisition of the newspaper through Thomson Corporation.

Is The Globe and Mail publicly traded?
No, The Globe and Mail is privately owned by the Thomson family through Woodbridge Company and is not publicly traded on any stock exchange. The newspaper operates as a private business within the family's investment portfolio. Woodbridge Company also holds the Thomson family's stake in Thomson Reuters Corporation, which is a separate publicly traded company focused on professional information services.

When was The Globe and Mail founded?
The Globe and Mail traces its origins to 1844, when George Brown founded The Globe as a reform-minded newspaper in Toronto. The current Globe and Mail was formed in 1936 through the merger of The Globe and The Mail and Empire, another prominent Toronto newspaper. The newspaper celebrated its 180th anniversary in 2024.

Who founded The Globe and Mail?
The original newspaper, The Globe, was founded in 1844 by George Brown, a Scottish immigrant who became a Father of Confederation. The current Globe and Mail was created in 1936 through the merger of The Globe and The Mail and Empire. Brown was a politician and journalist who used the newspaper to advance liberal political causes, including responsible government and Canadian unity.

What is The Globe and Mail's market position?
The Globe and Mail is widely recognized as Canada's newspaper of record and the most widely read national newspaper in the country. Its Report on Business section is the leading business journalism publication in Canada. The newspaper has approximately 200,000 digital subscribers and approximately 150,000 print subscribers as of 2025. The Globe and Mail has won more National Newspaper Awards than any other Canadian news organization.

How does The Globe and Mail make money?
The Globe and Mail generates revenue through subscriptions, advertising, and other sources. Subscriptions, including both print and digital, account for approximately 50% of total revenue. Advertising, including print and digital display advertising, accounts for approximately 35%. Other revenue, including events, specialized business information services, and syndication, accounts for approximately 15%. The company's revenue is not publicly disclosed, but industry estimates place it at approximately $200 million to $300 million annually.

Who is the editor of The Globe and Mail?
David Walmsley is the editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail, a position he has held since 2014. The publisher and CEO is Andrew Lundy, who took over in 2024. The executive team reports to the board of The Globe and Mail Inc., which is controlled by Woodbridge Company.

The Globe and Mail traces its origins to 1844, when Scottish immigrant George Brown founded The Globe as a reform-minded newspaper in Toronto. Brown was a politician and journalist who would become one of the Fathers of Confederation. He established The Globe with a liberal political perspective and a focus on responsible government and Canadian unity.

The Globe quickly became one of Toronto's most influential newspapers. Brown used the newspaper to advance his political career, serving as a leader of the Reform Party and later as a key figure in the negotiations that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867.

In 1936, The Globe merged with The Mail and Empire, another prominent Toronto newspaper, creating The Globe and Mail. The merged publication inherited The Globe's liberal traditions while incorporating The Mail and Empire's conservative business focus. This merger established the newspaper's balanced editorial approach that continues today.

The newspaper was owned by the McCready family from 1936 until 1965, when it was sold to FP Publications, a Canadian newspaper chain. FP Publications owned the newspaper until 1980, when the Thomson family acquired it through their media conglomerate, Thomson Corporation.

Under Thomson ownership, The Globe and Mail solidified its position as Canada's national newspaper. Kenneth Thomson, who led the acquisition, invested in journalism and expanded the newspaper's coverage. The Thomson family had built one of the world's largest media and information empires through Thomson Corporation, which owned newspapers, textbooks, and professional information services.

In 2001, The Globe and Mail was combined with Bell Canada's broadcasting assets to form Bell Globemedia, a joint venture in which BCE Inc. held a significant stake. Bell Globemedia also owned CTV, Canada's largest private television network. The partnership was intended to create a converged media company spanning print, television, and digital.

The convergence strategy did not deliver the expected synergies. In 2010, the Thomson family, through Woodbridge Company, re-acquired direct control of The Globe and Mail by purchasing an 85% stake from BCE Inc. The transaction restored family ownership and editorial independence. Woodbridge Company subsequently acquired the remaining 15% stake, giving the Thomson family 100% ownership.

In the 2010s and 2020s, The Globe and Mail focused on its digital transformation. The newspaper introduced a metered paywall in 2010, one of the first major Canadian newspapers to do so. The paywall was later replaced with a premium subscription model offering unlimited digital access. The newspaper also invested in data journalism, interactive features, and mobile applications.

In 2023, The Globe and Mail launched a new digital platform called Globe2Go, which provides digital access to the print edition in an interactive format. The platform was designed to serve readers who prefer the print reading experience but want digital convenience.

In 2024, the newspaper celebrated its 180th anniversary. The Globe and Mail has won more National Newspaper Awards than any other Canadian news organization and has been recognized with multiple Michener Awards for public-service journalism.

In 2025, The Globe and Mail continued to invest in its digital subscription business, reporting growth in digital subscribers and digital advertising revenue. The newspaper also expanded its newsletter offerings and podcast content to reach younger audiences.

The Globe and Mail has faced several controversies and challenges over its long history.

In 2016, the newspaper faced criticism for its coverage of the Conservative Party leadership race. Some Conservative Party members accused the newspaper of bias against certain candidates. The newspaper's editorial board endorsed a specific candidate, which led to accusations of editorial bias influencing news coverage. The Globe and Mail defended its coverage, stating that its editorial board operates independently from its news division.

In 2019, The Globe and Mail was involved in a controversy surrounding its coverage of the SNC-Lavalin affair. The newspaper published a series of stories alleging that the Prime Minister's Office had pressured the Attorney General to intervene in a prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. The coverage was praised for its investigative journalism but criticized by some as being politically motivated. The newspaper won a National Newspaper Award for its coverage.

The Globe and Mail has faced scrutiny over its ownership structure. The Thomson family's control of the newspaper through Woodbridge Company means that the newspaper is owned by one of Canada's wealthiest families. Some media critics have argued that concentrated wealth ownership of major newspapers can lead to bias in coverage, particularly on issues related to business and economic policy. The Globe and Mail has maintained that its editorial independence is protected by its governance structure, which separates the news division from the ownership.

In 2023, the newspaper faced a lawsuit from a former columnist who alleged that the newspaper had breached her contract. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

The Globe and Mail has also faced challenges related to press freedom in Canada. In 2022, the newspaper reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had monitored the communications of one of its journalists who was covering national security issues. The newspaper called for an investigation into the surveillance, which it characterized as an infringement of press freedom. The incident drew attention to the tension between national security and press freedom in Canada.

In 2024, The Globe and Mail faced criticism for its decision to introduce AI-generated content summaries for some articles. The newspaper used artificial intelligence to generate summaries of long-form articles, which were published alongside the original articles. Some readers and journalists expressed concern that AI-generated content could undermine the quality and credibility of the newspaper. The Globe and Mail defended the practice, stating that the summaries were clearly labeled and that all AI-generated content was reviewed by human editors before publication.