Toronto Star Digital Subscriptions Go Free for Post Secondary, More Access than Apple News+

The Toronto Star has announced today free digital subscriptions for all post-secondary students in Canada, ahead of this October’s federal election:

We are calling this the Vote2019 Offer, which basically means we want Canada’s newest group of eligible voters to be informed since they will have a say in how we shape our country on election day.

As for why they are doing this? The Star says “While accuracy, fairness and quality journalism have long been critical to our newsrooms, guiding those ideals are several principles we hold dear. Among those principles are community and civic engagement, and the necessary role of government.”

The free offer is also available for faculty and access ends on October 31, 2019. Verification requires a school email to register.

With this free digital subscription offer, post-secondary staff and students will get full access to paywalled stories from The Star, which is more than what you’ll get from Apple News+, which costs $12.99 per month (it also includes access to hundreds of magazines).



Earlier this week, parent company Torstar announced paid digital subscriptions of The Star increased 50% in the first quarter, which is when the publication joined hands with Apple News+. The first quarter also ended with 15,000 digital-only paid subscribers, up from nearly 10,000 by the end of 2018.

Torstar president and CEO John Boynton, said at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, “I think it will take multiple quarters to see what our share of the revenue is going to be,” referring to the digital partnership with Apple.