Be a Freelance Blogger

Make REAL money blogging for hire.

By

Canadian Magazines and Blogs for Freelance Writers

Canadian Magazines and Blogs for Freelance Writers

If you’re in Canada, you might be wondering where all the Canadian freelance writing gigs are. You’ve got the hometown advantage when pitching to Canadian publications (and some of them pay extremely well too). But most freelance writing job lists only include a handful of them.

So where are they?

Want more blogging gigs on other topics? Check out our Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs here.

Where Can I Find More Canadian Blogs and Magazines That Pay Writers?

If you’re looking for more Canadian publication to pitch, this list is far from complete. You can do a Google search for national and regional blogs and print magazines in Canada of course.

But if you want to find a ton of them, go to your local library or bookstores – or in other regions you visit regularly. Libraries usually carry all the local publications in their magazine section. If you’re not in Canada at the moment, ask the librarian about how to find more Canadian magazines (and look through their reference books on the topic).

Another easy way to find Canadian publications (if you’re in the country) is in the entrance to most large grocery stores and shopping centers. Look for those free print magazines on any subject. You’ll be surprised how many of them pay reasonable rates.

Do I Need to Live in Canada to Write for Canadian Publications?

You don’t have to live in Canada to write for Canadian magazines and blogs, but you should understand the publication’s audience (so you’ll need to be familiar with what’s important to their Canadian readers).

If you want to pitch a local or regional blog or magazine, you absolutely need to know about that part of Canada. This doesn’t mean you need to be an expert. You can always find and interview locals (hint: most publications love freelance writers who know how to do this).

You can get bylines faster by focusing on local and regional blogs and magazines in areas:

  • within easy driving distance to you.
  • that you visit regularly.
  • towns you’ve lived in and know well (like your home town).

Canadian Blog and Magazine Freelance Writer Jobs

Abilities

Abilities magazine and blog hire Canadian writers for freelance writer jobs

Abilities is a magazine and lifestyle blog based in Canada for people with disabilities. Their readers already have disabilities, so they’re looking for ideas about how to continue living their best life. You can write for their Health, Accessibility, Work-Life, Family-Life, and Independent Living sections. Read through their blog for inspiration and to see what they like to publish.

Alternatives Journal

Alternatives journal and blog hire freelance writers for canadian writer jobs

Alternatives Journal is a Canadian magazine and blog publishing ecology and environment stories (in essay, journalistic, and academic styles). You can write for their Science + Research, Politics + Policies, Climate Change, and Sustainable Life sections. Sign up for their newsletter to receive calls for proposals on specific themes. They’re interested in investigative features, reports, interviews, profiles, guides, and more.

Atlantic Books Today

Atlantic books blog hires freelance writers for canadian writing jobs

Atlantic Books Today Magazine and website publish articles about Eastern Canadian books and writers. If you enjoy writing about books and their authors, go have a read of their website. Their editor Chris Benjamin writes for the site too, so go check him out (and follow him if you want to write for Atlantic Books Today).

  • Homepage: https://atlanticbooks.ca/
  • Contributor info: Find out more about the site here and follow their editor Chris Benjamin.
  • Pay: We hear 15 cents a word.
  • Contributor byline: Yes.
  • Contributor bio: Yes, a few sentences with a photo and links.

Atlantic Business Magazine

Atlantic business magazine and blog hire writers for Canadian freelance writer jobs

Atlantic Business Magazine focuses on business in the 4 provinces along the Atlantic Ocean in Canada. They don’t accept unsolicited complete articles, so send them a detailed pitch for your article idea or column with some samples of your published work. They’re looking for stories that interest managers in their region (business leadership, technology, and natural resources, to give you an idea). This publication does a healthy amount of sponsored content (if that’s something you like).

Azure

Azure magazine and blog pay freelance writers for canadian writing jobs

Azure Magazine and blog accept freelance pitches on international architecture and design topics. You can pitch ideas on Interiors, Curiosity, Architecture, or Design to this Canadian publication. You’ll improve your chances of getting accepted if you send a LOI (letter of introduction) with some clips first. Read through the blog or magazine to get a sense of what they want (and pay attention to their regular columns).

BC Business

BC Magazine and blog hire writers for Canadian freelance writer jobs

BC Business Magazine writes about business in British Columbia Canada. They hire freelance writers for most of their feature stories. Read a few articles and you’ll notice they don’t do typical news stories. They’re looking for individual stories about businesses or individuals doing something interesting or solving problems. Their writer guidelines give you a very good idea of what they want. And don’t send them any completed articles, pitches only please.

  • Homepage: https://www.bcbusiness.ca/
  • Contributor info: https://www.bcbusiness.ca/contact-us
  • Pay: We hear 56 cents a word and up (2000 to 3500 words usually).
  • Contributor byline: Yes.
  • Contributor bio: Maybe. On a separate page, you have a writer’s page with a photo (and some space where you could have a few sentences). Ask.

British Columbia Magazine

British Columbia Magazine and blog pay freelance writers for Canadian writing gigs

British Columbia Magazine and website hire freelance writers regularly for stories about the not-so-well-known people and places in this part of Canada. They even give out assignments to writers they already work with or with strong writing portfolios. You can send in pitches or complete manuscripts for consideration. They make most of their publishing decisions from January to March so don’t drag your feet (but they’ll still consider your ideas throughout the year). Read the site and a few back issues of the print magazine to make sure your food article idea fits. They’d rather you contact them after you’ve gained some experience as a pro writer. So get a few clips under your belt before you pitch them.

Canadian Geographic

Canadian Geographic magazine and blog pay writers for Canadian freelance writing gigs

Write for Canadian Geographic Magazine, the blog, or its travel supplement section on mostly wildlife, nature, travel, and culture in Canada. Read through the magazine and blog to get ideas for your pitches. This publication will consider new (unpublished) writers with great pitches. We hear they’re often looking for travel and photo-heavy stories.

Canadian Living Magazine

Canadian Living Magazine and blog hire writers for Canadian freelance writing jobs

Canadian Living Magazine and blog publish a ton of home design, garden, and style stories. According to reports, they hire freelance writers too. Of course, you’ll have to do all the sleuthing (find the editors on social, read their articles to figure out what to pitch them, and email your pitches). If you need a little help, check out this article on what real blog editors look for in your pitches.

Chatelaine Magazine

Chatelaine magazine and blog pay freelance writers for Canadian writing gigs

Chatelaine publishes plenty of fashion and style stories (even though they are more known for their health and wellness articles). This Canadian lifestyle magazine and blog have plenty of room for everything their readers want (so make sure your ideas fit their readers too). Remember to specify whether it’s for the magazine or the website when sending in your pitch (and they only want pitches, not completed articles). Be patient. It may take 6 to 8 weeks for them to make a decision about your ideas.

C Magazine

C magazine hires freelance writers for entertainment writing jobs

C Magazine is a Canadian print publication and blog focused on contemporary art and criticism. They invite you to introduce yourself to them in their writer’s directory (before pitching anything). When you do send a pitch, make sure to write “pitch” in the subject line with the type of article you want to write (essay, interview, etc).

Common Ground

Common Ground magazine and blog hire freelance writers for Canadian writing gigs

Common Ground is a Canadian magazine and blog that pays writers for freelance work. You can send pitches for their Ecology, Creativity, Health, Justice, Politics, and Spirit sections. Good news Canadian writers, they really want to work with you (although if you’re not based in Canada, they might still say yes to your pitch too). Please, send pitches, not finished articles.

Douglas Magazine

Douglas Business magazine and blog hire freelance writers for Canadian writing jobs

Douglas Business Magazine is a Canadian print magazine and website. They want stories about Victoria, British Columbia business. For example, business news, leadership, advice, and technology are subjects they want (big surprise, Victoria is just across the bay from Seattle). Their recommendations for you, read a few back issues (or the site) before you pitch them. Your story needs to include local info and experts too.

Gripped Magazine

Gripped magazine and blog hire writers for Canadian freelance writing jobs

Gripped is a Canadian mountain climbing magazine and blog. They hire freelance writers and climbing enthusiasts. You can pitch them even if you don’t have much writing experience (but know boatloads about the subject). Feature stories, profiles of important Canadians, and profiles of enticing spots to climb are always needed. Pitch them any ideas that will appeal to their Canadian mountain climbing audience. Read through the website and pay attention to the magazine’s regular columns. They’re always looking for good fits for their columns.

  • Homepage: https://gripped.com/
  • Contributor info: Read their writer guidelines and check out the list of editors.
  • Pay: $150 to $250 (for 500 to 2500 word articles).
  • Contributor byline: Yes.
  • Contributor bio: No, but you get a writer’s page.

Hakai

Hakai Magazine hires freelance writers for science writing jobs

Hakai Magazine and blog want stories about coastal ecology (the ocean, the land, and its peoples). You could attack your topic from many different points of view (archaeology, ecology, biology, geology, oceanography, and others). They’re looking for short news reports, investigative features, narrative pieces, profiles, essays, videos, photo essays, and even non-fiction comics and infographics. Send pitches only, please. If you don’t hear back in two weeks, you can send a reminder email.

Inuit Art Quarterly

Inuit Art Quarterly magazine and blog hire freelance writers for Canadian writing jobs

Inuit Art Quarterly is a print magazine and website run by the Inuit Art Foundation. They want you (and everyone else) to know about Inuit artists, hear their stories, and see their work. Read the articles published on the site and in their magazine to get an idea of what types of articles get a yes.

Legion Magazine

Legion magazine and blog hire writers for Canadian freelance writing jobs

Legion Magazine is looking for articles about the military, its history, veteran affairs, current events, law enforcement, and any subject that members of the Canadian military would find interesting. Their readers are mostly members of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (and their families too).

Offscreen

Offscreen blog hires freelance writers for canadian writing jobs

Offscreen calls itself an online film journal specializing in independent films, up and coming filmmakers, Canadian films and alternative cinema. They publish director interviews, report on film festivals, and review DVDs. They strongly recommend you review their already published articles before sending a pitch their way. And if you happen to be fluent in French, they have a sister site en français.

Our Homes

Our Homes Magazine and blog hire freelance writers for Canadian writing jobs

Our Homes Magazine wants writers knowledgeable about home design, decoration, and building. You’ll need to be based in Ontario, Canada. Their stories are usually about local builders, homes, suppliers, shops, and artisans. You can pitch them ideas, but they prefer to assign articles (so an LOI or letter of introduction might work best). You can look at the digital version of their different regional magazines or read the website. Heads up, they’ve got 14 different regions, so pick the one that’s best for you.

Style at Home

Style at Home magazine and blog pay freelance writers for canadian writing gigs

Style at Home Magazine and blog would love pitches about new and intriguing homes and rooms in Canada that fit their preferred styles. Send a strong pitch with photos and your writing samples to get their attention. Read through the blog or magazine to make sure your ideas fit their look.

The Walrus

The Walrus is a Canadian non-profit magazine and blog with content that as they say “sparks conversation and new thinking.” They also pay freelance writers for short essays, long-form journalism, fiction, and poetry. You can send completed creative writing manuscripts, but please pitch article ideas first. Review the magazine or blog for an idea of what topics and types of creative writing they prefer.

Yummy Mummy Club

The Yummy Mummy Club blog hires writers for Canadian freelance writing jobs

The Yummy Mummy Club blog hires freelance writers for home and style stories for busy moms with young children. They love humor, personal stories, and timely topics (but a quick look at their blog will tell you much more). This Canadian blog is even open to contrarian and dissenting opinions (you’ll have to show proof for any facts of course). Their submission guidelines are pretty helpful too.

This List Needs YOUR Help!

Have you written for one of these blogs? Will you tell us about your experience?

Or do you know of another Canadian blog that pays at least $50 per post?

If you’ve got a tip about a blog that pays writers $50+, please send it to teambafb@gmail.com in exchange for our undying gratitude — thank you for your service.

Want more blogging gigs on other topics? Check out our Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs here.

Yours Free: $13,355 in Blogging Gigs

If you're keen to make money blogging, you'll love the Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs -- it gives you details of 75 blogs that pay $50 to $2000 per post. Enter your email and I'll send you a free copy, plus my money-making toolkit and other useful stuff.

Comments

  1. It’s probably worth remarking that Canadian publications will pay in Canadian dollars, which is more than 30% lower than US dollars. This makes them somewhat less attractive to US writers.

    • You’re absolutely right! Experienced US writers with impressive portfolios may not have any use for Canadian publications. But Canadian writers or US writers looking to beef up their portfolio or get their foot in the door could take advantage of these opportunities – especially if they have a connection to Canada that could get an editor’s attention.