Early newspapers were usually broadsheets — they measured more than a metre and a half across when folded out. Tabloid newspapers, which came along in the 20th century, were much smaller.
Creating a Country
Would Canada have come together without newspapers? Hard to say, but there were a LOT of newspapermen at meetings in Quebec, Charlottetown and London, England from 1864 to 1867. Those meetings led to Confederation — the creation of Canada. George Brown ran the Toronto Globe — the biggest newspaper of its time in British North America. He brought a group of politicians including John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier together when it seemed like they’d never agree, and Canada was on its way to being born. Joseph Howe, publisher of the Novascotian, was against Confederation at first, but eventually became part of the new country’s government in 1869. Amor de Cosmos successfully pushed British Columbia to join Confederation in 1871 through articles in his paper The British Colonist.
Political Papers
For decades, pretty much every town in Canada had two papers — one that supported the Liberal Party and one that backed the Conservatives. They praised the politicians they liked and harshly criticized the ones they didn’t. In many places — the island of Newfoundland, for instance — papers also sided with a particular religion. Roman Catholics and Protestants attacked each other in print. All over Canada, political tempers got so hot at times that mobs who opposed what a paper printed would break into its offices, wrecking the presses and hurting or even killing its staff.
Canadian Press
By 1850, news from Europe was coming to Canada by telegraph. In 1910, a group of publishers formed the Canadian Press. At first it mostly sent American news around the country by telegraph. CP started reporting more Canadian news during the First World War. It eventually added French services and hired its own reporters. Its stories still appear in many newspapers and online every day.
Just for Women
Newspapers were always looking for ways to attract more readers. In the late 1800s, many started adding a page or even a section focusing on things they thought would interest women: recipes, housekeeping tips, fashion stories and more. One of the most popular items was advice to readers on everything from love to proper manners. Montreal’s La Presse advice columnist, who wrote under the name Colette, sometimes received a thousand letters a week. Her real name was Edouardina Lesage. She wrote “Le Courrier de Colette” for more than 50 years.
The Kamloops Wawa was printed in the Chinuk (Chinook) jargon — a language that mixed words from several B.C. First Nations, later adding English and French. It appeared from 1891 into the early 1900s.