Métro Média folds after distribution and budget cuts

Métro Média, a pillar of Montreal local news, is folding due to financial constraints. 

According a statement, Métro Média was advised on Wednesday it could no longer continue its operations as its supporting institutions like Desjardins Culture, the economy and innovation ministry, and Investissement Québec pulled out their funding.

Earlier this year, the city banned the Métro newspaper's main mode of distribution, Publi-sacs, pushing the publication to take on a digital transformation.

At the time, Métro Média president Andrew Mulé had said the move would put pressure on the group as it faced cost increases with a change in distribution while being hit with a decrease in revenue — leading to layoffs.

"The fact remains that we couldn't suffer a devastating loss of revenue all of a sudden, and follow an ambitious and expensive digital roadmap without external financial support," said Mulé in a statement Friday.

"Time was my worst enemy and what I feared unfortunately happened, but suddenly and abruptly." 

Created in April 2018 after acquiring the Métro newspaper, Métro Média has 17 publications in Montreal and the Quebec City region.

"The strange and paradoxical part of this story is that Métro not only has a healthy balance sheet, but we have made enormous sacrifices over the past year to show our commitment to the future," said Mulé.

Meta's decision to block Canadian news on Facebook and Instagram did not help the fledgling digital version of Métro, Mulé added.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called the suspension of Métro's activities a "a major loss for the media ecosystem and the daily lives of Montrealers." 

"The radical transformation of the media business environment calls for urgent reflection and collective solutions. I salute the work of the entire Métro Média team and the journalists who have covered Montreal news over the years," said Plante on Twitter.