Colonial Advocate – Upper Canada (Ontario), William Lyon Mackenzie, 1824

Scottish-born William Lyon Mackenzie (1795–1861) established the Colonial Advocate in 1824 in Queenston, Upper Canada. Through his paper, he became a fierce critic of the ruling oligarchy known as the Family Compact, a small group of officials and businessmen who dominated the colony’s political and economic life. He championed democratic reforms, republican ideals and responsible government.

In November 1824, he moved to York (now Toronto), where in 1826 his newspaper became the target of a political attack which came to be known as the Types Riot. His printing office was vandalized, type was thrown into the lake, his press destroyed, and his family was harassed. Mackenzie sued the rioters and, with the damages awarded, paid off his creditors and resumed production of his newspaper. Rather than silence him, the attack made Mackenzie one of the best-known reform voices in Upper Canada.

York was renamed Toronto in 1834 and Mackenzie became its first mayor. In 1837, he helped organize an armed uprising known as the Upper Canada Rebellion. The rebellion was quickly suppressed and Mackenzie was forced to flee to the United States, where he spent over a decade in exile. Eventually exonerated, he returned to Toronto in 1849, where he continued to publish newspapers.

Though the rebellion failed, it helped spur political reforms that eventually led to more representative government. Through the Colonial Advocate, Mackenzie inspired citizens to challenge the political establishment and demand constitutional change. The newspaper ceased publication in 1834, but its influence continued long after the final issue appeared.