The Canadian Champion
The Canadian Champion was a local newspaper in Milton, Ontario. It served the Halton region and was published every two weeks, later in a tabloid format. The paper began in 1861 as The Canadian Champion and County of Halton Intelligencer, founded by James A. Campbell, and it was known for its outspoken Reform-style politics.
In 1864 Campbell sold the paper to Robert Matheson and Isaac Hunter. Hunter left in 1866 to start the Halton Herald in Georgetown. From 1869 to 1882 the Champion had several owners, finally settling with the partnership of William Panton and David Watson Campbell, which lasted until Campbell’s sudden death in 1896. Panton continued as the sole publisher until 1927, when he sold the Champion to John W. Blight and F. Leonard White.
After Blight’s death, the Champion was sold to G. Arlof Dills, publisher of The Acton Free Press, in November 1943. The Dills family owned it until 1978, when Inland Publishing bought the paper. Inland later merged with Metrospan Community Newspapers in 1981 to form Metroland, which published the Champion for many years.
The Champion faced competition from other Milton papers, including the Halton Journal (began 1855), the Halton New Era (early 1860s), the Halton News (1877), and the Milton Reformer (1885–1932), which eventually sold its subscription list to the Champion.
Print edition of The Canadian Champion ceased on September 14, 2023, along with several other Metroland community papers, but its news website continues to publish stories at insidehalton.com.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:42 (CET).