Another step into the eventual merger of all Canadian private media into one giant company, Quebecor, owner of the Sun chain, the Journal de Montréal, the London “Free” Press, 24 Hours/24 Heures, Mirror, ICI and countless other smaller papers, has agreed to buy Osprey Media, owner of just about everything in southwestern Ontario, including the Barrie Examiner, Kingston Whig-Standard, Peterborough Examiner and Sarnia Observer.

So take out one name on the ever-shrinking list of Canadian media owners:

• CanWest Global
  • The Gazette
  • Ottawa Citizen
  • National Post
  • Vancouver Sun
  • Vancouver Province
  • Edmonton Journal
  • Regina Leader-Post
  • Calgary Herald
  • Global TV
  • CH
  • Canada.com
  • Dose.ca
• Bell Globemedia
  • Globe and Mail
  • CTV
  • Discovery Channel
  • Comedy Network
  • TSN/RDS/NHL
  • Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Toronto Raptors
• Black Press Group
  • Red Deer Advocate
  • Community papers in Alberta and B.C
• (What’s left of) Conrad Black’s Hollinger
  • Sherbrooke Record
  • More tiny papers in B.C. and Alberta
• Irving
  • Fredericton Daily Gleaner
  • Moncton Times & Transcript
  • Saint John Telegraph-Journal
  • New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
  • canadaeast.com
• Power Corporation
  • Le Droit (Ottawa)
  • La Presse
  • Le Soleil
  • La Voix de l’est
  • cyberpresse.ca
• Quebecor
  • Sun chain (Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg)
  • London Free Press
  • Journal de Montréal
  • Journal de Québec
  • TVA
  • Videotron
  • canoe.ca
• TorStar
  • Toronto Star
  • Hamilton Spectator
  • Metro
  • toronto.com
  • Workopolis
  • Harlequin Books
• Transcontinental
  • St. John’s Telegram
  • Halifax Daily News
  • Charlottetown Guardian
  • Metro Montreal
  • West End/West Island Chronicle
  • Westmount Examiner
• Osprey
  • (See above)

Among the most distressing things about the table of media ownership in Canada, is that only four daily newspapers are independently-owned, including Montreal’s Le Devoir.