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.[2]
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.[3] It remained under Southam until the chain was purchased by Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. In 2000, Black sold most of his Canadian holdings, including the flagship National Post to CanWest Global.
It published its last Sunday edition on July 15, 2012. The move cut 20 newsroom jobs, and was part of a series of changes made by Postmedia.[5]
The pre-2014 logo depicted the top of the Peace Tower of the city's Parliament Buildings. In 2014, the newspaper adopted a new logo showing the paper's name over an outline of the Peace Tower roof on a green background.
Circulation
Like most Canadian daily newspapers, the Ottawa Citizen has seen a decline in circulation in recent years. Its total circulation dropped by 26 percent to 91,796 copies daily from 2009 to 2015.[6]