This week in Canadian media history: Ontario’s first newspaper published in 1793
Ontario's first newspaper, The Upper Canada Gazette, was published on Apr. 18, 1793. The government-sponsored newspaper was an initiative of John Graves Simcoe, the province’s first lieutenant-governor.
First edition of Upper Canada Gazette (Courtesy of Today in Canadian History)
By Eric Mark Do, Reporter
Ontario’s first newspaper, The Upper Canada Gazette, was published on Apr. 18, 1793. The government-sponsored newspaper was an initiative of John Graves Simcoe, the province’s first lieutenant-governor. The first printer of the paper was Louis Roy, whom Simcoe persuaded to move to Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) for the job. The first edition was four pages: the front page contained text from one of King George III’s speeches alongside a proclamation from Simcoe. For more about the history of The Upper Canada Gazette, check out the book The Upper Canada Gazette and Its Printers, available free online here.
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Tamara Baluja is an award-winning journalist with CBC Vancouver and the 2018 Michener-Deacon fellow for journalism education. She was the associate editor for J-Source from 2013-2014.