Publisher William Manley Nicholson launched the paper as an alternate to the Northern Advance, which already had a strong political voice in the community of over 3,500 people.
Although the fire caused extensive damage to the newspaper's building and equipment, MacLaren continued to publish with the help of the rival Saturday Morning weekly, owned by brothers Fred and William Walls.
MacLaren set up an office in the basement of the Ross Block and used the composing room and press equipment of the Saturday Morning to keep the paper coming out.
The company immediately embarked on an expansion and began building a modern commercial printing plant at its new location at 16 Bayfield Street.
On July 28, 1995, the Examiner's top story was the sale of the newspaper to Hollinger Inc. controlled by well-known Canadian businessman Conrad Black.
On August 1, 2001, Osprey Media Group Inc., headed by Michael Sifton, the former president of Hollinger Canadian Newspapers, bought the Examiner.