Commentary
In May 1844, George Brown was on a special trip to New York City to acquire the best technology he could afford—Toronto’s very first cylinder rotary printing press, a model developed by R. Hoe & Co.—for his latest venture. The 26-year-old Edinburgh-born political journalist had worked in Manhattan for five formative years writing and editing newspapers with his father, Peter, before moving to the comparative wilds of Upper Canada in 1843. Now George was launching a new newspaper, The Toronto Globe.
He then threw his growing clout behind the movement for conservative reform, to obtain for Canada a constitution more closely modelled on that of Great Britain. As Brown’s influence increased, he became a main driver behind the Reform cause and, in turn, Canada’s Confederation and Western expansion. He also became co-premier of the Province of Canada for a short stint before Confederation….