The Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser – Nova Scotia, Anthony Henry, 1769

Born in France from German parents, Anthony Henry (1734–1800) was well versed in French, German and English. He likely received apprenticeship training in Europe before joining the British forces as a regimental fifer during the capture of Louisbourg in 1758.

Upon arriving in Halifax, Henry became an assistant to John Bushell. He quickly took on much of the printing work and, in 1760, became Bushell’s partner. After Bushell’s death in 1761, Henry assumed the role of publisher for The Halifax Gazette.

Henry quickly ran into trouble with the local government because of his opposition to the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act of 1765 was a direct tax on the British North American colonies and required that all printed materials in the colonies be produced on paper made in London. This paper carried an embossed revenue stamp and was four times the cost of paper produced in the American Colonies to the south. Henry’s editorial stance meant government support for the Gazette was withdrawn. 

Undeterred, Henry launched the Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser in 1769, marking the first Canadian newspaper to operate independently of government patronage. 

In 1770, Henry printed ‘A Sermon,’ delivered in Halifax by John Seccombe of Chester, Nova Scotia. This work holds the distinction of being the first religious publication produced in Nova Scotia. 

Anthony Henry is also notable as being the godfather of Anthony Henry Holland, who followed in his footsteps as a printer and established the first paper mill in Atlantic Canada. The Acadia Paper Mill was situated near the Bedford Basin in Halifax.