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Print subscribers will continue to get full access to the newspaper’s digital properties — nationalpost.com and financialpost.com — after completing a quick registration process. Digital readers who do not have a print subscription can pay $0.99 for the first month and then $9.99 a month thereafter. Digital-only readers can also sign up for the reduced subscription rate of $99.50 for an entire year.

The move by Postmedia Network was telegraphed by chief executive Paul Godfrey last fall. It follows similar decisions by The New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Sun Media and other major news outlets that have opted for the online pay model. The Toronto Star will implement its digital pay model later this year, putting the online properties of all of the major English-language newspapers in Canada behind a meter.

“We’re no longer in the business of chasing page views from all over the globe,” said Postmedia chief operating officer Wayne Parrish in a recent interview. “We’re in the business of trying to provide deep, rich experiences for those who value the content that we focus on, which is local content and Canadian content.”

Postmedia’s foray into paid online news content started two years ago when the Victoria Times Colonist — which has since been sold — and The Gazette in Montreal started to charge digital readers. The second phase started late last summer when the Vancouver Sun, Province and Ottawa Citizen introduced metered paywalls. At that time, the National Post and Financial Post sites began charging their international readers.