From CP via CTV.ca:

The Halifax Daily News ceased publication Monday as the owner of the money-losing tabloid, Montreal-based Transcontinental Media, moved ahead with a plan to replace the paper with a free daily called Metro.

The company said all but a few of the 92 employees at the Daily News will be let go.

The first edition of the free newspaper will be on the streets Thursday, said Marc-Noel Ouellette, senior vice-president of the company's newspaper group.

Transcontinental acquired the Daily News from CanWest Global Communications Corp. in 2002. The paper had a daily circulation of about 20,000 copies. It competed with the family owned Halifax Chronicle Herald, which has a circulation of about 110,000.

"We worked hard to deliver an economically viable newspaper in the Halifax market with the Daily News,'' Ouellette said in a statement.

"It was an extremely tough business decision. ... (But) in this context, we are delighted to continue our presence as a daily newspaper publisher in the Halifax market.''

The Daily News logo was stripped off the paper's website before noon and replaced with the green Metro brand.