Ottawa Citizen Newspaper Canada is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.Established as The Bytown Packet in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the Citizen in 1851. The newspaper’s original motto, which has recently been returned to the editorial page, was Fair play and Day-Light.
The paper has been through a number of owners. In 1846, Harris sold the paper to John Bell and Henry J. Friel. Robert Bell bought the paper in 1849. In 1877, Charles Herbert Mackintosh, the editor under Robert Bell, became publisher. In 1879, it became one of several papers owned by the Southam family. It remained under Southam until Southam itself was purchased by Conrad Black’s Hollinger Inc. In 2000, Black sold most of his Canadian holdings to CanWest Global.