Quebec Mercury

{{Short description|Defunct English language Quebec City newspaper}}

{{Infobox newspaper

| name = The Quebec Mercury

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| owners = Thomas Cary Jr., Pierre-Édouard Desbarats

| founder = Thomas Cary

| publisher = Thomas Cary

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| foundation = 1805

| political = Conservative

| language = English

| ceased publication = 1863

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| headquarters = Quebec City, Lower Canada

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The Quebec Mercury was an English language weekly newspaper published in Quebec City from 1805 to 1863.

The Mercury was founded by publisher Thomas Cary in respect and veneration of Canada's link to the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2200.01-e.html|title=The Quebec Mercury|work=Towards Confederation|publisher=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=2015-08-14}} From 1828 to 1848 the Mercury was owned jointly by Thomas Cary Jr. and Pierre-Édouard Desbarats.{{cite encyclopedia

| last = Lebel

| first = Jean-Marie

|author2=Desbarats, Aileen

| title = Pierre-Édouard Desbarats

| encyclopedia = Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

| year = 1987

| url = http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2832

| access-date = 2009-04-26}} The newspaper generally represented the economic and political interests of the English merchants, while its rival Le Canadien (1806–1893) represented the economic and political interests of the French language moneyed groups. The Quebec Mercury was deeply conservative, advocated for the assimilation of French Canadians, and sought to Anglicise the colony. Cary perceived the rise of a French middle class and the French majority in the Assembly as a threat to the growth of Anglo-Canadian commercial interests.{{cite encyclopedia

| last = Gauvin

| first = Daniel

| title = Thomas Cary

| encyclopedia = Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

| year = 1987

| url = http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2793

| access-date = 2009-04-26}} The newspaper survived until the 1950s.{{cite web|url=http://communications.uwo.ca/com/western_news/stories/the_canadian_landscape___20090205443642/|title=The Canadian Landscape |work=Western News |date=February 5, 2009|last=Bentley|first=David |publisher=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=2009-04-26}}

Together, Le Canadien and the Mercury were the first truly political newspapers printed in Canada.