| Format | Tabloid |
|---|---|
| Owner | Pink Triangle Press |
| Publisher | Brandon Matheson |
| Editor | Matthew DiMera |
| Founded | September 1993 |
| Ceased publication | February 12, 2015 (print) |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 1195-6127 |
| OCLC number | 259372779 |
| Website | Xtra Ottawa |
Xtra Ottawa (formerlyCapital Xtra) was alesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community newspaper published inOttawa, Ontario, Canada. It was launched in 1993. Unlike its biweekly sister publicationsXtra inToronto andXtra Vancouver inVancouver,Xtra Ottawa started as a monthly, and was later published 17 times a year, with a publication schedule of every three weeks. The Ottawa edition had a circulation of 20,000 copies which reached 36,000 readers.
Printed onnewsprint intabloid format from its establishment in 1993, Pink Triangle Press announced on January 14, 2015, that the paper edition would be discontinued and the publication would continue in an exclusivelydigital media format.[1]
Xtra Ottawa also published a gay tourism map,Out in Ottawa, every spring; theUltimate Pride Guide in mid-July; and theIndex gay business directory in December.
Xtra Ottawa was launched byPink Triangle Press asCapital Xtra in 1993, shortly after the organization learned that Ottawa's existing LGBT publication,GO Info, had largely collapsed and was publishing irregularly with only a skeleton staff. Brandon Matheson, then a freelance journalist working in theParliament Hill Press Gallery, was chosen to launch the project in conjunction with George Hartsgrove, then an administrator at theUniversity of Ottawa.[2]GO Info briefly tried to beef up its content in the face of its new competition, but folded in early 1994.
In 2007,Ottawa City Council attempted to pass restrictions on the paper's distribution in public facilities after a complaint was filed by Greg Evans.
In March 2010,Capital Xtra was renamedXtra Ottawa with the launch of a redesign of the Xtra papers in the Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver markets.
The paper's final print edition was published on February 12, 2015.
Early contributors to the magazine includedIrshad Manji,Alex Munter, David Pepper, Andrew Griffin and Don McLean.[2]
Xtra Ottawa put on a series of events every year for the Ottawa queer community: the LGX business & consumer expo each spring, the Transgress Festival as part of the Ottawa International Writer's Festival each October, and theCapital Xtra! Community Achievement Awards ceremony to acknowledge local volunteers and activists.