24 Hours (newspaper)
24 Hours () was a group of English-language and French-language free daily newspapers published in Canada. It was published in French in Montreal and Gatineau and in English in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Gatineau edition was discontinued in 2008 and the Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa editions ceased publication in 2013. The Toronto and Vancouver editions were sold to Postmedia Network as part of Quebecor's divestment of English-language news, and they were later acquired by Torstar in an asset swap on November 27, 2017 and immediately shut down in favour of the  Torstar-owned "Metro" papers in those cities (rebranded "StarMetro" the following year). The French-language Montreal edition published by Quebecor Media and known as 24heures later known as 24H and now known as 24 and published weekly is the only survivor under the name after folding of all the other Canadian editions. In 2021, it re-launched as a print weekly. The newspaper also underwent a major redesign with the title change to "24". History. In 2000, Metro International launched its free daily "Metro" newspaper in Toronto, eventually expanding with local editions across Canada. In Toronto, the "Toronto Sun" and  Toronto Star scrambled to launch their own free dailies, Sun Media's "FYI Toronto" and Torstar's "GTA Today". In mid-2001, "GTA Today" had merged with "Metro" and in October of the same year Sun Media ceased publication of "FYI Toronto". However, as the "Toronto Sun" itself had been largely dependent on sales to commuters the success of "Metro" ate into its market share and in 2003, Sun Media re-entered the giveaway market with the launch of "24 Hours" in Toronto. The Montreal French-language paper was originally called "Metropolitain" (English: "Metropolitan") and had a large lowercase "m" as  its logo, before becoming "24 Heures" in 2005. On November 14, 2006, "24 Hours" launched two new editions in the Ottawa–Gatineau area—an English edition published in Ottawa, and a French edition published in Gatineau. The Gatineau version stopped publishing on May 9, 2008. The Vancouver edition of "24 Hours" was a joint venture of Sun Media and the Jim Pattison Group; Pattison sold his share of the Vancouver edition in 2007. In fall 2009, "24 Hours" and "24 Heures" were given an extensive makeover. The paper was given the alternative name "24H"; while "24H" is short-form for  24 Hours in French, the name was applied to all editions. The paper's colour scheme changed for the Montreal edition, from black and yellow to blue and orange, to match the other editions' colours. As of January 3, 2011, the Montreal edition of "24 H" had reached an agreement with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) for exclusive distribution in the underground Montreal métro network, replacing the "Metro" newspaper. On November 27, 2017, the Toronto and Vancouver editions were acquired by Torstar during Torstar-Postmedia swap deal and were immediately shut down and merged into the Torstar owned  Metro. The sale was part of a trade between Torstar and Postmedia, in which more than forty local newspapers changed ownership, with several closing. As a result of the trade and closures, the Competition Bureau began an investigation into violations of the Competition Act and raided the offices of Postmedia and Torstar to search for evidence.