William Lyon Mackenzie was appointed to the Board of the Welland Canal Company in 1835. He conducted "an exhaustive personal inquiry into the company's finances" and published the results in the three issues of this paper, Dec. 16th to 30th, 1835. His findings were extremely uncomplimentary.
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Begun by William Lyon Mackenzie on July 4, 1836, this weekly was the organ of radical reform. Its last issue was on December 6, 1837, the day before the skirmish on Yonge Street.
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The Royal Standard
This was the first Upper Canadian daily newspaper. During the session of the Legislature, it was published daily, with tri-weekly issues at other times. It was a strongly Conservative paper; it has even been suggested that Sir Francis Bond Head helped edit it. Its ostensible editors, James Cull and Mr. Osborne, petitioned the House of Assembly in November of 1836 for £25 towards the expense of preparing accurate daily parliamentary reports, a feature of the paper, but were refused. Its press was wholly made in Toronto by Mason and Barber, machinists, with the casting by Norton. It published from November, 1836 to February 1837.
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This unofficial Church of England weekly was founded on May 6, 1837, by Rev. Alexander Neil Bethune. It was a staunch defender of the privileges of the Church of England, the British connection and the Family Compact. It was edited by Bethune until 1846, except for an interval from 1841 to 1843 when John Kent was editor. After 1846, there were a number of editors who preserved a strictly Conservative viewpoint, but who wrote fewer political editorials and gave more space to church, educational and general news. From 1837 to 1841 and from 1843 to 1846, the Church was published in Cobourg, from 1841 to 1843 and from 1846 to 1855 in Toronto, and in 1855 and 1856 in Hamilton. In 1852, it was called the Canadian Churchman, reverting to the Church in 1853. It had several publishers including Henry and William Rowsell, and Arthur F. Plees in Toronto and H.B. Bull in Hamilton. The last issue was on July 25, 1856.
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The Commercial Herald
Founded on June 28, 1837, by John F. Rogers and George Kackstaff, this semi-weekly was the organ of the Orange body in Toronto. From July 1, 1839, it was published by Rogers and Samuel Thompson, who had bought out Hackstaff. During the Sydenham regime, however, it was the only Toronto newspaper critical of the government, and for this reason was adopted by Sydenham's opposition. These opponents supplied ample funds to pay a competent editor, George Anthony Barber, a former master at Upper Canada College. In 1841, its name changed to the Toronto Herald, and in 1846 to the Herald. The last issue was on June 30, 1848.
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The Mirror
This weekly was founded by Charles Donlevy and Patrick McTavey in June, 1837. It was a Roman Catholic Reform paper "devoted to the attainment of an independent local government", and carried a great deal of Irish news. In 1842, the name changed to Toronto Mirror, published by Charles Donlevy and edited by C.P. O'Dwyer. After Donlevy's death in July 1858, the paper continued under Patrick O'Neill until about 1866.
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Palladium of British America and Upper Canada Mercantile Advertiser
Charles Fothergill, the naturalist and his son, Charles Forbes Fothergill, published the first issue of this paper on December 20, 1837. They had bought the Conservative Courier of Upper Canada. Between the publication of their first prospectus and the first issue, they also bought the Radical Correspondent and Advocate. With this mixed political heritage, the Palladium's political views were also confused; at the beginning the only thing that is clear is that the Fothergills supported commerce and Queen Victoria. In their first issue they mentioned the siege of Toronto, which they compared to the Scottish '45, but which they regretted they had no space to describe. As invasion threatened, however, the paper's tone became more conservative. The regular edition appeared on Wednesdays; a half-sheet consisting entirely of advertisements was distributed to Toronto subscribers on Saturday. The Palladium's masthead was designed by a local artist, Mr. Haycock. The paper died a natural death from its publisher's lack of business sense in 1839.
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British Colonist
Begun on February 1, 1838, with the first two issues called the Scotsman, this was published by Hugh Scobie. It was originally the organ of the Scottish Conservatives and the Church of Scotland supporters, and it remained a staunch but not rabid Conservative paper. In November, 1851, a daily edition called the Daily Colonist was begun, and in August 1852, a weekly called News of the Week, or Weekly Colonist. After Scobie's death, the Colonist was bought by Samuel Thompson in 1853. It became the official organ of the Macdonald-Taché Ministry in 1857, but the commercial panic of that year forced Thompson to sell to George Sheppard and Daniel Morrison. In 1858 Sheppard fell foul of the Ministry who founded a rival paper, the Atlas under the editorial management of Hamilton Hunter. The financially shaky Colonist could not afford to be in opposition; its backers agreed to a merger with the Atlas to form the Daily Colonist, once more under Samuel Thompson. Sheppard joined the Globe's editorial staff. The Colonist was sold to James Beaty of the Leader in September, 1860, who dropped the daily and semi-weekly editions, but continued News of the Week until 1861.
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The Examiner
Francis Hincks founded The Examiner on July 3, 1838, as the first Reform paper after the Rebellion. It was a weekly, with the motto "Responsible government and the voluntary principle", and it supported the Moderate Reformers. In 1839, it was adopted as the official organ of the Reform Association. Hincks left the Examiner at the end of June in 1842. After an interregnum filled by Mr. Ontario Stevens and the printer, Michael Reynolds, it was acquired by James Lesslie on February 14, 1844 and was published by him until it merged with the Globe on August 29, 1855.
This was a four-page weekly, begun in March, 1840, by John Carey. It lasted at least until its sixth issue, May 2, 1840.
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Morning Star and Toronto Transcript
First published in May 1840, this paper began as a tri-weekly. It concentrated on advertisements and boasted of the "absence of all political and religious discussion". It was published by William J. Coates, except for 1843 when its publishers were William J. Coates and John H. Savigny. From 1843, it was published twice a week only. In 1843, it was called the Toronto Star, Transcript, and General Advertiser and in January 1844, it became the Toronto Star and Canadian Farmer's Journal. In July 1844, its name was changed to the Toronto Star, with the motto "We shine alike for all".
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Toronto Daily Abstract
Published by S. Heron and edited by J. Courtney, the Abstract began in February of 1841. It scorned neutrality, and supported the Conservative candidates in the 1841 elections although it conceded some virtues to the Reform side. The Abstract had no use for Radicals and was particularly interested in local city news. It probably did not last beyond the elections.
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Metropolitan
Another paper with a brief existence, this tri-weekly was published by William Wilson. Its motto was "The People and the Constitution", and it supported the Reformers. It began towards the end of February, 1841 and probably did not publish after the elections of that year.
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Begun in January, 1843, with the motto, "'Tis the voluntary slave, that makes the tyrant's friend", this weekly was published by Patrick McTavey. It was reform paper.
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First issued on August 18, 1843, this weekly was edited by Peter Brown, assisted by his son, George Brown. It was the organ of the Presbyterian Free Church and opposed the privileged position of the Church of England. In its "Secular Department" it was strongly liberal. It ceased publication on July 7, 1848, allowing the Browns to devote all their energies to the Globe.
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Globe
Begun as a weekly on March 5, 1844, by George Brown, the Globe was a strong supporter of Baldwin and Lafontaine. In 1851, it broke with the Ministry and moved toward a radical, Clear Grit position. It was strongly opposed to separate schools and Roman Catholic privilege in general, and supported separation of church and state, representation by population, the development and exploitation of the west and, after 1859, Confederation. George Brown and his brother Gordon were vigorous and aggressive newspapermen, and the Globe from the first was outstanding for the successful adoption of new methods and techniques of news-gathering and publication. In August, 1844, the first cylinder press in Upper Canada was introduced by the Globe. It was capable of printing 1,250 papers and hour, compared to the 200 an hour printed in the old Washington hand press. In October 1845, the Western Globe was founded, published with a London Ontario date line, but printed in Toronto. The first overseas correspondent from a Toronto newspaper was sent to Great Britain in 1851 by the Globe. In September 1846, the Globe became a semi-weekly; in 1849 weekly and tri-weekly editions were established. On October 1, 1853, the daily Globe appeared, and from 1861 to 1911 both morning and evening editions were published. In 1855, the Globe acquired both the Examiner and the North American and in 1936, it absorbed the Mail and Empire, to form the modern Globe and Mail.
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British Canadian and Canada West Commercial and General AdvertiserA weekly, begun in July 1844, this strongly Conservative paper was published by Watson and Stanton. In 1845, it was published by Robert Watson and for its last years by James Watkins. Its press and type faces were sold to Henry C. Grant, who used them to found the Provincial Telegraph.
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In the prospectus for the Toronto Standard, dated October 21, 1848, there is a reference to a paper called the Standard published in Toronto "in the course of last year... with the avowed object of bulwarking the cause of Conservative Protestantism". This earlier Standard had a brief existence and was defunct by October 1848.
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This weekly was called the cheapest newspaper in British America by its publisher, Henry C. Grant - it sold for a dollar a year. Intended primarily for young working men, it was somewhat didactic, but carried general news as well as improving articles. Begun in September, 1848, the Artisan was suspended "for a few weeks" early in 1849 and was finally superseded by Grant's Provincial Telegraph in February 1849.
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Toronto Standard and General AdvertiserFounded on December 6, 1848, this weekly was published by James Northey. It supported Conservative principles and Protestant Ascendancy; it carried more news and thought more highly of William III than of Lord Elgin.
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Provincial Telegraph and Commercial and Mechanical Intelligencer
A weekly, founded by Henry C. Grant in February, 1849, this Telegraph's motto was "Ours is no party jar". Its politics consisted of condemnation of party animosity (and incidentally of all existing parties) and its pride was news by telegraph. On April 17, 1849, Grant founded the Morning Telegraph, later the Daily Telegraph which he claimed to be Toronto's first daily newspaper. According to Mulvaney, this paper ceased publication in September, 1849.
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Christian Statesman
A prospectus of this weekly to be edited by Rev. John Roak for the Congregation Union of Canada appeared in the Barrie Magnet of August 23, 1849.
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This weekly was founded on October 25, 1849 by Hugh Bowlby Willson "to promote by peaceable means the separation from the mother-country". Between the publication of its first prospectus and its first issue, its objective had changed from simple independence to annexation of Canada to the United States. It "presented ideas of disgruntled Canadian Tories who had accepted the Manchester doctrine of inevitable colonial independence and who now saw in annexation the only cure to the current Canadian economic depression". It ceased publication on April 17, 1850.
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