Average issue readership in the Toronto and Montreal markets has not changed from the NADbank 2005 Study full-year results, but both Vancouver and Ottawa-Gatineau experienced increases. These findings are part of the NADbank (Newspaper Audience Databank) 2005/06 Readership Study for Selected Markets, which includes data from fall 2005, plus spring 2006 field work in the four most competitive markets in Canada.

The numbers also indicate that newspapers are still a force to be reckoned with. More than three-quarters of adults 18+ read a daily in the past week: 79% in Vancouver, 76% in Toronto, 79% in Ottawa, and 77% in Montreal. Those reporting that they read any paper yesterday jumped to 56% from 50% in Vancouver and grew slightly in Ottawa-Gatineau, with a tally of 53% from 52%.

In Toronto, 49% of respondents aged 18+ reported reading any newspaper yesterday while Montreal was constant at 53%. Readership of individual newspapers almost mirrored the last report with a few one-point variances, such as the 1% increase for the National Post in Toronto and 1% decrease for The Gazette in Montreal. 24 hours was down 1% in Toronto but up a point in Montreal. What these findings do illustrate in both markets is that readership for the free dailies, Metro and 24 hours, has now stabilized.