* Post to shift into same group as other Canwest papers

* Move staves off likely closure of paper

By Wojtek Dabrowski

TORONTO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - An Ontario judge on Friday approved the transfer of Canwest Global's CGS.TO flagship National Post newspaper into a new holding company, a move that will allow the money-losing daily to keep operating.

Canwest had said the move was necessary to keep the Post alive, since the company's creditors are no longer willing to keep funding its losses.

The deal to shift the Post into the same group as the rest of Canwest's newspaper chain is one piece of the company's creditor protection restructuring, which it entered after buckling under a C$4 billion ($3.7 billion) debt load.

The move will fully separate Canwest's struggling newspaper operations from the rest of the company, making its assets more attractive to prospective buyers.

It was critical to the Post and the paper's 277 employees that the Ontario Superior Court judge approve Friday's order.

"There's just no money to continue beyond today," Lyndon Barnes, a lawyer representing Canwest, said during the court hearing.