The Huffington Post has launched its first international incarnation with Huffington Post Canada.
In a blog post, co-founder Arianna Huffington said the new site would provide a “turbo-charged, Canada-centric” version of the Huffington Post.
“Canadians are no strangers to The Huffington Post: 1.5 million of them visited us in March,” she wrote. “So starting our international expansion north of the border was a natural – especially after a survey of our Canadian visitors found that 80 percent would be interested in a Canadian news section and 71 percent would visit the site more often if we covered Canadian news, and provided takes on the hot topics of the day from Canadian voices, some well-known and some we’re excited to introduce you to.”
On its first day, the site featured blog posts written by environmental activist David Suzuki, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Victoria-raised, Oscar-nominated actress Meg Tilly.
Huffington said the site would focus on politics and business, while also covering entertainment, sports and community news. The Canadian version, along with all AOL Canada content, is overseen by Kenny Yum.
However, soon after launch some visitors expressed frustration at being directed to the Canadian version of the site they regularly visited in the past for U.S. news.
“I’m Canadian, but I read HP because of interest in the US. An international (or, to put it more bluntly, “Canadian”) edition is the last thing I expected to see,” said one.
“ARGH!!!! I don’t come to this site for Canadian news!! I have enough sources for that. If I can’t get the American edition, than I’m not going to be visiting much anymore,” posted another.
The editors posted an update on Huffington’s blog post, promising changes would be coming: “A number of commenters have requested the ability to easily switch from HuffPost Canada to the U.S. version – or to toggle between the two via a link in the masthead. We hear you – and are working to quickly provide this option.”
The company plans to launch a U.K. version July 7.
Founded in May 2005, the Huffington Post provides original reporting, content aggregation and a lively community for discussion, and recently changed its content creation model.
The company was acquired by AOL in February for a reported US$315 million.
