The Colonial Advocate is back — not because we’re nostalgic, but because history keeps repeating itself and someone ought to take notes.

Originally launched in 1824 by William Lyon Mackenzie (professional agitator, part‑time mayor, full‑time thorn in the side of the powerful), the Advocate fought for responsible government long before it was fashionable. We’re reviving that spirit for the digital age: sharp analysis, historical context, and a healthy suspicion of anyone who insists “everything is fine.”

We’re here to:

• Dust off the past and show how little has actually changed
• Bring archival journalism into a modern, accessible format
• Connect Toronto’s early political battles to today’s civic debates
• Make history useful — and occasionally entertaining

Think of us as a newsroom with one foot in the 19th century and the other firmly planted in the present, asking the same inconvenient questions Mackenzie once did.

The Advocate lives again — smarter, digital, and slightly less flammable than the original.

If you want an even snappier, more irreverent version, or one that leans harder into the historian‑voice, I can spin that too.