CanWest: The Winner Canada Needs?

VANCOUVER -- In the race to media convergence, Canada has typically placed as an also-ran on the world stage. While industry battles and deal-making have raged within the Great White North over the past few years, the impact of the chaos has rarely been felt across the border.

Even though Quebec's Seagram (VO Quote) and France's Vivendi are on the brink of a merger, few people recognize the Canuck connection because Seagram's media holdings are so closely associated with the U.S.

But that could soon be about to change, thanks to the emergence of Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications (CWG Quote). Last week, Canada's largest broadcaster established itself as the Great White North's chief media force by acquiring all the major Canadian newspapers held by Conrad Black's Hollinger (HLR Quote) -- including The Ottawa Citizen, The Montreal Gazette, The Vancouver Sun and a 50% holding of Hollinger's flagship daily, The National Post. The $2.4 billion deal -- the largest of its kind in Canadian history -- also includes Hollinger's Internet properties, including Canada.com and the hockey portal Faceoff.com. ...