On Spec is a Canadian quarterly magazine of speculative fiction. They mainly feature work by Canadian writers in the genre they call “fantastic” literature. According to their pitch guide, they pay $100 for poems of 4 to 100 lines. For short-short stories of under 2000 words, they also pay $100. They accept fiction of up to 6,000 words, and they pay .05 CDN per word. All these rates are in Canadian dollars.
The Walrus is a Canadian general interest magazine that “provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canadians.” They publish short essays, long-form narrative journalism, features, essays, fiction and poetry. Features run from 1,200 words to around 2,000 words, long-form journalism run from 2,500 to 5,000 words, and essays run from essays 1,000 to 4,000 words. According to their pitch guide, rates for short essays of around 1,000 words start at $500; long-form reported features pay up to $1/word.
The Hamilton Review of Books publishes twice annually, in Spring and Fall, and accepts work by Canadian writers. They publish book reviews and long-form essays on works of Hamiltonian, Canadian and international fiction, nonfiction, poetry and graphic novels. Our previous research indicated reviews were 500-750 words and paid CAD50, and essays were 1,500-5,000 words and paid CAD75. They focused on a literary subject and authors might engage with a book’s subject matter as a jumping-off point for a thematic, personal essay. Current pitching information is not clear. To contact them, refer to this page.
Abilities is Canada’s foremost cross-disability lifestyle magazine. Topics include travel, health, sport, recreation, careers, education, transportation, housing, social policy, relationships, technology, family life, movie/book reviews, personality profiles, events and conferences. The magazine has a conversational tone. They’re not looking for personal essays, but encourage writers to draw on their experiences to illustrate a broader topic. They pay a kill fee if negotiated in advance. According to their pitch guide, they pay $50 to $325. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Briarpatch is a Canadian magazine that covers "current events, grassroots activism, electoral politics, economic justice, ecology, labour, food security, gender equity, indigenous struggles, international solidarity, and other issues of political importance." They welcome pitches from freelancers. According to their pitch guide, they pay $150 for profiles, short essays, reviews and reading lists, online-only articles, and parting shots (less than 1,500 words), $250 for feature stories (1,500 to 2,000 words) and photo essays, and $350 for research-based articles and investigative reportage (2,000-2,500 words).
Transition Magazine, published by the Saskatchewan Division of Canadian Mental Health Association, covers mental health issues, including personal stories. They publish fiction, non-fiction, poetry, book reviews, and visual art. According to their pitch guide, they pay $50 per page. They have a cap on contributions of $200/author. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Mountain Life Media publishes several magazines that cover outdoor sports related to mountains. Mountain Life Coast Mountains covers British Columbia's coastal mountain range. Mountain Life Ontario covers the Georgian bay region of Ontario, particularly Blue Mountain. They previously indicated to pay 30 cents per word for published pieces, but current pay rates are not clear. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Alberta Views is a regional magazine covering the province of Alberta. They publish articles about the culture, politics, and economy of Alberta. They are seeking features of approximately 3,000, book reviews of 500 words, and they consider reprints from various media of up to 1,000 words for Eye on Alberta (their readings section). They previously indicated to pay up to 50 cents (CDN) per word for features, and $100 for book reviews, but rates have been removed from their pitch guide. To learn more, refer to their submission guidelines.
Travelweek is a Canadian publication that also has a French edition. For forty years, Travelweek has been covering everything from familiarization trips to airlines. They're always looking for articles relevant to Canadian travel professionals. Though they have no submissions guidelines available, you can contact their editors here.
Canadian Travel Press is another popular Canadian travel trade publication. Canadian Travel Press is owned by Baxter Media, whose other publication is Travel Courier. In addition to a print edition, they also have a digital version of the magazine. Though they have no guidelines for writers available, you can refer to their contact page for more information.