Do I have to give notice before suing a newspaper or broadcaster for libel in Ontario?

Yes. The Libel and Slander Act requires anyone intending to sue over an alleged libel published in a newspaper or broadcast to first give the publisher or broadcaster written notice within a short window after the libel comes to their attention, and then to start the lawsuit itself within a separate, similarly short limitation period, both of which are far shorter than Ontario's general two-year limitation period that applies to most other civil claims.

Missing either the notice deadline or the specific limitation period can end the claim entirely, even where the underlying defamation itself would otherwise be a genuinely strong case, which makes these among the least forgiving deadlines found anywhere in Ontario civil litigation. This special notice and limitation regime applies specifically to newspaper and broadcast libel; it does not apply the same way to ordinary written statements, private communications, or spoken slander outside that specific media context, where the general limitation and discoverability rules apply instead. Anyone considering a claim involving a news outlet or broadcaster should treat timing as the very first thing to check.