Hugh Christopher Thomson (1791 – April 23, 1834) was a businessman, newspaper publisher and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Kingston in Upper Canada in 1791, the son of a Scottish immigrant who served with Joseph Brant during the American Revolution. The family moved from Kingston to Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and then York (Toronto), where Thomson began work as a clerk in a general store. In 1810, he was transferred to Kingston. Although a member of the local militia, he did not serve in the War of 1812 due to poor health. In 1815, his employer returned to France and Thomson purchased the Kingston store. In 1819, he became editor and owner of the Upper Canada Herald, a weekly newspaper, which soon had the largest circulation of any newspaper in Upper Canada. He also pri