Guelph Mercury

The first edition of the Mercury (then the Wellington Mercury) appeared under the direction of George M. Keeling, ex-editor of the Advertiser, on September 17, 1853. For some time Guelph had three daily newspapers, including the Herald and the Advertiser, all of which, by 1924, had amalgamated into the Mercury. In 1862, James Innes, acting editor of the Advertiser, partnered with John C. McLagen and purchased the Mercury. The two bought a property at 77 Macdonell Street, east of Wyndham Street. The Mercury remained at this location until the 1950s when it moved to its present location at 8-14 Macdonell.

Under James Innes' direction, the paper changed from a weekly to daily distribution in July 1867. Innes sold his interest in the newspaper to J. McIntosh in 1905 and the paper expanded further in 1924 when McIntosh bought the competing Herald. He then sold out to James Playfair in 1929. Less than 20 years later, Thomson Newspapers Crop bought the Mercury where it remained until it was bought in 1995 by Hollinger Inc. and then in 1999 by Sun Media. As of 2004, the Guelph Mercury is owned by Torstar Corporation, and is part of a group called the Grand River Valley Newspapers. Although the Mercury existed in several forms before Confederation, the newspaper printed its last edition in January 2016.