The Company was initially formed by a group of private investors in 1971 to publish the first English-language tabloid in a major Canadian market. Back then, 62 "Day Oners" led by founder Doug Creighton started what was to become an empire out of the ashes of The Toronto Telegram. The Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation (TSPC) was incorporated on October 21, 1971 and the first edition of The Toronto Sun appeared on newsstands on November 1 of that year. Based on the success of The Toronto Sun, the company replicated its unique tabloid format, launching start-up newspapers in Edmonton (1978), Calgary (1980) and Ottawa (1988).
On February 26, 1982 Maclean Hunter bought 50% of the Sun chain allowing the Sun to continue to grow. The company has also grown through selective acquisitions. In December 1987, the company acquired a 60% share of the Financial Post Company, which was increased to an 80% interest on October 31, 1997, with the remaining 20% interest held by Pearson PLC (through an affiliate). In February 1988, the company began publishing the daily edition of The Financial Post. In 1988, the company acquired a 60% interest in Bowes Publishers Limited (which then owned a small group of community newspapers throughout Canada) and by 1991 had increased its ownership to 100%. In 1989, the company incorporated Florida Sun Publications, Inc. to consummate the acquisition of a group of controlled circulation newspapers and a printing plant in Florida. The company has founded the only five Canadian newspapers with a daily circulation in excess of 50,000 launched in the last 26 years.
On February 2, 1994 Rogers Communications became the owners of Sun Publishing following their takeover of Maclean Hunter.
Sun Publishing launched its CANOE website on March 4, 1996. In May 1996, Rogers announced that it was selling its 62.5% share in Sun Publishing, resulting in a management-led buyout on October 3, 1996. Sun Media Corporation was formed on October 4, 1996 and is the successor to TSPC, which was a public company from 1978 until the completion of the Management Buy-Out, which took the Company private. In December 1997 Sun Media Corporation completed a successful IPO, taking the company public once again.
On May 20, 1997 the Company completed the acquisition of The London Free Press and the assets of Netmar Inc. After acquiring the Brockville Recorder and Times in August 1998, the Company completed the acquisition of The Hamilton Spectator, The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo), The Cambridge Reporter and the Guelph Mercury on September 4, 1998 in exchange for The Financial Post.
Following a hostile takeover bid by rival Torstar in October 1998, Sun Media Corporation merged with Quebecor, which acquired all of the Sun shares on January 7, 1999. Sun Media Corporation - a new Quebecor subsidiary - includes all the operations of Sun Media Corporation prior to the acquisition along with daily and weekly newspapers and a distribution business formerly part of Quebecor Communications Inc. At the same time that it acquired Sun Media, Quebecor sold the recent broadsheet acquisitions, The Hamilton Spectator, The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo), The Cambridge Reporter and the Guelph Mercury.
In June 1999, CANOE became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quebecor. In the same month parent company Quebecor Inc. sold a 30% stake in Sun Media to three investors, namely Capital Communications CDPQ inc., a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board (OMERS) and Royal Bank Equity Partners Limited.
In 2003, Sun Media Corporation announced the sale of its interests in Florida and British Columbia. In the same year, the company acquired the press assets of Southern Ontario-based Annex Publishing & Printing Inc., including two dailies, a semi-weekly, six weeklies, two newspaper supplements and a commercial rotary printing facility.