Some Toronto Star History

Government of Canada's Digital Collections:

Several of The Star's new owners wanted it to be a purely political organ controlled by the Liberal Party. Atkinson had a different view. He knew that a newspaper could be a good ally of a political party but that many citizens would not trust it if it were purely partisan. In Atkinson's view, The Star, to be successful, had to be independent free from both partisan and financial control.

New York Times:

Mr. Honderich's Toronto Star was also frequently attacked by political critics for its overt support of social causes, Canadian economic nationalism and the Liberal Party of Canada.

"He would plead guilty to doing that," said John Honderich, who was also the newspaper's publisher until 2004. "He very much believed in a crusading, if fair and accurate, newspaper. He once made a convocation address in which he said there was no such thing as objectivity."

Globe and Mail:

Mr. Honderich told the journalist Doug (now George) Fetherling in a 1983 interview for Saturday Night magazine that "you produced or else," explaining that he covered two speeches a day, delivering a few facts and a couple of "punchy" quotes. "It left a deep impression on my mind . . . what people are interested in is information." This was a lesson he would apply when he had control of the paper.

Ontario voters that rely on the Toronto Star, The Hamilton Spectator, The Record and the Guelph Mercury (circulation around 4.8 million in "vote-rich Ontario" should read this NY Times article to guage how effectively their newspapers are enabling them to make an informed electoral decision.