Citing health issues and age, Leader Publisher Gerald Tracey says the 123-year-old newspaper will close one year from now. Until then, it will be business as usual.

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The Eganville Leader will cease publishing at the end of February 2026. Publisher Gerald Tracey said after much thought and discernment the decision was made based on two factors: health and age.

“Deciding to close the Leader is the most difficult decision I have had to make in my 52 years in the business, but the time has come,” he said.

Mr. Tracey was admitted to Renfrew Victoria Hospital recently and then transferred to the Ottawa Heart Institute where he had a pacemaker inserted.

“Getting a pacemaker is no big deal, but after suffering a heart attack 10 years ago which resulted in a triple bypass and two stents, it is time to make some changes,” he said. “I have had several Code Red trips to Renfrew and Ottawa in the past decade and survived each trip thanks to the wonderful staff at both these hospitals. But one of these times I might not be so lucky.”

Mr. Tracey said what is most important for readers, subscribers and advertisers to know is that it will be business as usual until this time next year. The last edition of the Eganville Leader will be published on February 28, 2026.

“By continuing to produce the newspaper for the next year, we will be fulfilling our obligation to our subscribers who have paid their subscriptions in advance and they will get full value for their money,” he said. “Our staff will continue to produce the best newspaper we can because we take pride in doing the best we can and we enjoy doing it.”

Mr. Tracey said the core group of employees has been working together for over three decades and are like family,” he said. “But we are aging and along with aging comes health problems and family illnesses and other matters that require attention.

“We are a small staff and if one of us takes ill, or has to be off work for personal reasons, there is no one to replace that person,” he said.

Going forward, the cost of a subscription will be based on the number of months the Leader will continue to operate.

Subscriptions due in March will be the normal rate: $80 inside Renfrew County or $85 outside the county. After that, the rate will drop $7 per month: April – $77; May – $70; June – $63; July – $56; August – $49; September – $42; October – $35; – November – $27; December – $21, January – $14 and February – $7.

Changing Business Landscape

The Leader is one of the most successful community newspapers in Ontario and across Canada. It has the highest paid circulation among community newspapers in Ontario, and perhaps Canada, and is unique in that there is no other known paper operating in a community of 1,300 that has a weekly print run (winter) of 5,700.

With Eganville strategically located near the centre of Renfrew County, the Leader has made huge inroads into the City of Pembroke and Town of Renfrew in recent years while still enjoying a strong presence along the Highway 60 corridor between Renfrew and Barry’s Bay. It is known as the paper of record for Renfrew County.

The Leader has consistently grown its revenues in the last decade at a time when over 200 newspapers have closed, despite the loss of advertising from the federal and provincial governments and many institutions in Renfrew County such as school boards, the County of Renfrew and hospitals which have either abandoned newspaper advertising or made significant cuts in their ad budgets.

After years of lobbying, the provincial government began advertising in newspapers again earlier this year, but for many outlets, it was too little too late. The federal government rarely advertises in newspapers choosing instead to spend the majority of its budget with the American giants, Google and Meta which pay no tax in Canada.

“Advertising is the engine that drives a newspaper and, sadly, these levels of government and institutions have chosen to move away from newspapers. Our readership has never been stronger and I know how much the newspaper will be missed by our readers.

“That’s the hardest part of making this decision. We have such a loyal and dedicated readership and I feel almost ashamed to be letting them down.”

Mr. Tracey said it has been an absolute honour and privilege to have been in the media business in Eganville and most of Renfrew County for over half a century. Reporting the news and recording some of the history of this county has been a remarkable experience and he said if he had to do it all over again, he would make the same journey.

“Even though we are a small newspaper, the pace is demanding and the schedule is rigid,” he said. “The days turn into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years and before you know it, the yardstick of life has become pretty short.

“This is a business that you live and breathe every day of the week, day and night,” he continued. “Holiday Mondays are work Mondays and when most people enjoy an event and go home, we go back to the office to write the stories and select the photos and meet a deadline.”

The Leader was founded in 1902 by Patrick McHugh when he launched the village’s second newspaper. The paper was purchased in 1944 by the Tracey family.