Getting Started with Online Services & Databases

Canadian Newsstream provides current full text articles from major Canadian newspapers and several Toronto community newspapers. Canadian news content are from over 400 news sources. Content is updated daily and contains older issues with some newspapers going back to the late 1970s. Access to full-text newspaper include The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star along with numerous newswires and broadcast transcripts.

How to Access Canadian Newsstream
1. Go to tpl.ca and enter Canadian Newsstream directly into the search box
2. Click on "Access Online"
3. Enter your library card number and PIN
4. Click on "Continue"

Searching Canadian Newsstream

Basic Search

Type a word or phrase into the search box. A search using more than one word (e.g. electric vehicles) will return all records containing either search word.

For an exact search use quotation marks (“electric vehicles”). This narrows the search, only returning records with that specific term.

Select the “full text option” box below the search feature to return full text results.

Special characters and terms to refine your search can be found here: Lib Guide to Boolean Operators.

Advanced Search

Use a search form customized with search field and search operator dropdown to create a search as precise as required.

Search Results

Following a search, Canadian Newsstream returns a list of matching documents called your search results. Results are sorted by relevance by default. You may change this to the oldest publication first or the most recent publication first.

Search results can be narrowed by selecting from the filters available on the left hand panel including: source type, publication date, publication title, document type, subject, company/organization, location, person or language.

To view the content or details of the search result, click on the button below the entry.

Translate Search Results

When available, a document’s abstract and full text can be translated into 18 different languages using machine-generated text.
Click Translate under the abstract and select a language.

Search Result Features

Search results can be cited, emailed and printed. Select ‘All Options’ for a full list of save and export options.

Publication Search

Over 700 publications are listed alphabetically in Canadian Newsstream. To find a specific one, use the Publication Search. A pull down menu allows you to choose to search In title, Title begins with, In publication summary and In subject.
Your search will return both current and historical publication titles. The results details include the coverage (full text and citation/abstract) and the date range.
Source type filter on the left hand side can narrow a search further.

To search within one publication, select the publication title and use either a basic or advanced search.

To browse a particular issue, select a year and month and issue using the drop down menu options. Click on the Show issue contents. Articles from the chosen issue are displayed sorted by page order.

For more information or for help, please contact our Answerline service.

Revised: February 20, 2025