Canada's oldest magazine, The Canadian Sportsman, is going to publish its final edition in December. This will end its 143-year tenure of uninterrupted publication.

Sportswood Printing, the printing division of the magazine, is going to continue its business. It has recently undergone an expansion in the digital printing department. It has apparently got plans to expand further. The clients of Sportswood Printing include a major fitness brand in the country and several other magazines as well.

Gary Foerster, the president of the company, said that the demise of the monthly magazine was caused by several factors. He has issued a release that clarifies that print magazines have to face numerous unprecedented challenges in an age that has gone digital in almost every aspect in life. On the other hand, the demographics which The Canadian Sportsman has served also pose some unique challenges of its own, PrintCAN reports.

Publisher-Editor Dave Briggs explained those 'unique challenges' that the magazine had to face. He said that the Ontario government made a decision in 2012 on withdrawing the Slots at Racetrack Program. The decision apparently had a devastating effect on the horse breeders as well as the racing industry of the province, he said. The SARP made a $345 million contribution every year to support the racing industry. The Toronto Star reports that it generated more than a billion for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp on an annual basis.

About 9,000 to 10,000 jobs were lost. Mr Briggs said that the government's decision had come all of a sudden, and people did not get the opportunity to make a transition off the industry. Breeders lost their money and the Canadian Sportsman was also among the losers, he informed, as it lost major amounts of money from subscribers and advertising clients, which happened to be their principal source of revenue.

The December issue, which is going to be the last one for the magazine, will have its original dimension (9.5" x 13"). The magazine had to make it 8.5" x 11" off late due to monetary constraints.