# Toronto Star
The **Toronto Star** is a daily newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1892 as the Evening Star, it publishes a newspaper seven days a week in the [Greater Toronto Area](https://www.edgepedia.org/greater-toronto-area) and distributes news continuously to a global audience through thestar.com and its mobile applications.[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) The paper is published by Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation,[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) which Jordan Bitove assumed complete control of in 2022; he also serves as the Star's publisher.[2](https://www.torstar.ca/sections/history) The Star's status as Canada's largest daily newspaper is dated: a reference work records it as of April 2015,[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) while the paper's own description of itself as having "long been Canada's largest daily newspaper" carries no date.[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 3, 1892, as The Evening Star: a four-page paper sold for one cent, published by 21 printers locked out at the Toronto News[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) |
| Name changes | Toronto Daily Star from 1900; officially the Toronto Star from 1971[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) |
| Ownership | Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., wholly owned by Torstar Corporation; Jordan Bitove assumed complete control of Torstar in 2022 and is the Star's publisher[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) • [2](https://www.torstar.ca/sections/history) |
| Editorial foundation | The Atkinson Principles, drawn from publisher Joseph E. Atkinson's views (1899 to 1948) on a large city newspaper's duty to investigate and advocate on social and economic issues[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) |
| Record sale | 1958 purchase by the five trustees of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation for $25.5 million, the highest price paid to that date for a newspaper property[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) |
| Expansion | 1999 purchase of four dailies from Quebecor for $335 million; 2017 acquisition of four dailies from Postmedia[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) • [4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) |
| Reach | Publishes seven days a week in the Greater Toronto Area and globally on thestar.com; Canada's largest daily as of April 2015[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) • [3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) |
## History
**Founding by locked-out printers.** The first edition of [The Evening Star](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-evening-star) appeared in Toronto on November 3, 1892. The four-page paper was published by 21 printers locked out at the Toronto News and sold for one cent.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) The paper was renamed the Toronto Daily Star in 1900, and in 1971 it was officially named the Toronto Star.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star)
**The Atkinson era.** In 1899 the Star's Liberal proprietors hired Joseph E. Atkinson to run the newspaper; Torstar's corporate history records him as managing editor from 1899, acquiring controlling interest and serving as publisher until his death in 1948.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) By 1913 he had become the majority shareholder, and under his direction the paper adopted a left-of-center editorial stance and became dominant in Toronto and south-central Ontario.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) In 1910 Atkinson established the Toronto Star Weekly to address the absence of Sunday newspapers in Canada.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star)
**Writers of the 1920s and 1930s.** The Star's roster in those decades included Morley Callaghan, Ernest Hemingway, Gordon Allan Sinclair, and Gregory Clark.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star)
**Dominance and new editions.** The Toronto Telegram ceased publication in 1971, after which the Star dominated Toronto's [evening newspaper](https://www.edgepedia.org/evening-newspaper) field; the paper introduced a [Sunday edition](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunday-edition) in 1977 and a morning edition in 1981.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) Also in 1971 the Star moved its offices from 80 King Street West to One Yonge Street.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) A $400-million press center opened in Vaughan in 1992, and the Star launched its news website, thestar.com, in 1996.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) The paper marked its 130th anniversary in 2022.[5](https://www.thestar.com/anniversary/)
## Ownership and the Atkinson charitable structure
**A newspaper left to a charity.** When Atkinson died in 1948, the Star passed to the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, a charity incorporated in 1942.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) This arrangement prompted action by the [Government of Ontario](https://www.edgepedia.org/government-of-ontario). Torstar's corporate history records that in 1949 the Ontario government moved to ban charities from owning a controlling interest in a private company, giving the foundation seven years to sell the Toronto Star.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) The Canadian Encyclopedia describes the resulting Charitable Gifts Act as limiting charities to 10 per cent ownership of a private company.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) The bequest made the Star a charity-owned newspaper, and the 1949 provincial legislation restricted charities' ownership of private companies, though the sources differ on the precise restriction.
**The 1958 trustee purchase.** In 1958 the Star was purchased for $25.5 million by Toronto Star Ltd., owned by the five trustees of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation: J.S. Atkinson, Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh, Beland Honderich, Burnett Thall, and William J. Campbell. The price was the highest paid to that date for a newspaper property anywhere.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) Toronto Star Ltd. was renamed Torstar Corporation in 1977.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history)
**Expansion under Torstar.** In 1999 Torstar bought the Hamilton Spectator, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Guelph Mercury, and Cambridge Reporter from Quebecor for $335 million.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) In 2017 Torstar completed a transaction with Postmedia Network Inc. in which it purchased and sold a number of daily and community newspapers, continuing to operate the St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune, and Peterborough Examiner acquired from Postmedia.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) Torstar's other publishing interests include Metroland Media Group and commercial printing operations.[6](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/torstar-corporation) The Star itself sits within this group: Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. also operates the Hamilton Spectator, the Waterloo Region Record, and dozens of Ontario community news sites.[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/)
**NordStar and Bitove.** In 2020 Torstar was acquired by NordStar Capital, an entity owned by the Toronto businessmen Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett, returning the company to private ownership.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) • [2](https://www.torstar.ca/sections/history) In 2022 Bitove assumed complete control of Torstar Corporation.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) Torstar identifies Bitove as Owner of Torstar, Publisher of the Toronto Star, and CEO and Chairman of NordStar Capital; by his own account, delivering the Star newspaper was his first ever job.[2](https://www.torstar.ca/sections/history)
## Editorial stance and the Atkinson Principles
The Star's editorial foundation is the Atkinson Principles, derived from Joseph E. Atkinson's views on the role of a large city newspaper. The paper describes these principles as the foundation of its ongoing commitment to investigating and advocating on social and economic issues.[1](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/) The advocacy tradition is old: The Canadian Encyclopedia characterizes the paper under Atkinson's direction, from his rise in 1899 until his death in 1948, as left-of-center in editorial stance and dominant in Toronto and south-central Ontario.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star)
## By the numbers
The documented figures span the paper's corporate life. The first edition of November 3, 1892, ran four pages, sold for one cent, and was produced by 21 printers.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) Atkinson became majority shareholder by 1913.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) The 1958 trustee purchase cost $25.5 million, a record for a newspaper property at that date.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) The Vaughan press center that opened in 1992 represented a $400-million investment.[4](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history) The 1999 Quebecor acquisition added four dailies for $335 million.[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) A reference work dated the Star's standing as Canada's largest daily newspaper to April 2015,[3](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star) and the paper marked its 130th anniversary in 2022.[5](https://www.thestar.com/anniversary/)
## References
1. [About The Star, thestar.com](https://www.thestar.com/site/about/)
2. [Our History, Torstar.ca](https://www.torstar.ca/sections/history)
3. [Toronto Star, The Canadian Encyclopedia](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-star)
4. [Milestones in Torstar History, TORSTAR](https://torstar.com/company/milestones-in-torstar-history)
5. [Toronto Star Anniversary, thestar.com](https://www.thestar.com/anniversary/)
6. [Torstar Corporation, The Canadian Encyclopedia](https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/torstar-corporation)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Journalism and press › Individual newspapers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license