How a nineteenth-century party organ became Canada's self-styled national newspaper of record.

History · Published 29 September 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Founded in 1844 by a Father of Confederation, The Globe and Mail has evolved from a partisan weekly into a national institution. Through mergers, corporate acquisitions, and a persistent focus on business, it has navigated a century of shifting political landscapes to remain a central pillar of Canadian media.

The Globe and Mail traces its origins to 1844, when Scottish immigrant George Brown established The Globe in Toronto as a weekly organ for his Reform Party. Brown, a key figure in Canadian Confederation, utilized the paper to champion liberal politics and appeal to freeholders. By the 1850s, it had matured into an independent daily. Its modern identity was forged in 1936 through a merger with The Mail and Empire, a conservative rival founded in 1895 by former Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. Contemporary reports famously dubbed this union a case of the minnow swallowing the whale, as the conservative Mail and Empire held a larger circulation than Brown's original publication.

Throughout the twentieth century, the paper underwent significant structural changes, shifting from local Toronto focus to a national mandate. Ownership passed through several hands, including FP Publications in 1965 and the Thomson Corporation in 1980. The paper's reputation as the voice of the business community was solidified by the 1962 launch of the Report on Business section. By the 1980s and 1990s, under editor William Thorsell, the paper became a vocal proponent of free trade and socially liberal policies, though it maintained a tradition of endorsing right-wing parties during federal elections, including the Progressive Conservatives and later the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper.

Today, the newspaper operates as a digital-first entity, having moved to the Globe and Mail Centre in 2016. Despite facing competition from the National Post and the Toronto Star, it remains a profitable enterprise with a focus on digital subscriptions, which grew to approximately 246,000 by late 2023. While critics occasionally label it the Toronto Globe and Mail due to its metropolitan roots, the paper continues to serve as a primary source for the Canadian intellectual elite, balancing its historical legacy with modern demands for financial and political news coverage.

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