Tri-City News announces closure, Burnaby Now and New Westminster Record also to shutter

After decades informing the residents of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, the Tri-City News is set to close by May 21 at the latest.

Citing “financial challenges,” Glacier Media also announced the Burnaby Now and New Westminster Record are scheduled to shut down by April 21.

“This is a very sad day for our employees, readers and local journalism,” stated publisher Lara Graham. “We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done and we’re so grateful to our hardworking staff who have made these publications so special, and to our loyal readers and advertisers who have supported us over the years.”

In a social media post, Coquitlam city councillor Hodge reflected on his 25 years as a Tri-City News photographer and the effect of the closure.

“I’m sad for the staff and journalists who continued to cover our community and provide quality journalism even after it became an online publication,” he wrote. “But mostly I’m sad for our community because today it lost its voice.”

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone thanked the reporters for their work and emphasized the need for ethical, accountable journalism.

“I don’t know what a community is when it can no longer tell its stories,” Johnstone wrote. “The social media algorithms designed to divide us and enrich billionaires cannot replace the journalistic principles that are fundamental to our democracy.”

Local journalism has declined across Canada, with a total of 529 local news outlets shutting down between 2008 and Feb. 1, 2025. Those closures include 403 community newspapers, according to the Local News Research Project.

During that same period, 406 new news outlets were launched, of which 278 remain in operation.