First Electric Telegraph

19 December 1846 marked the inauguration of the telegraph in Canada. This major development in communications was pioneered by the Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company whose line then being built between Toronto and Queenston carried the first message, from the mayor of Toronto to his Hamilton counterpart. To most Canadians the early telegraph was an expensive novelty but both the press and business soon adapted it to their use. In 1852 the successful but limited Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara enterprise was bought by the larger Montreal Telegraph Company.

Le 19 décembre 1846 le télégraphe fut inauguré au Canada. La Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, instigatrice de cette importante évolution des communications, transmit le premier message, du maire de Toronto à son homologue d’Hamilton, par la ligne en construction entre Toronto et Queenston. Pour la plupart des Canadiens, le premier télégraphe était une nouveauté coûteuse, mais la presse et le commerce ne tardèrent pas à l’adopter. En 1852, la Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara, passa à la Montreal Telegraph Company.