Macdonald and Brown had been political rivals in Canada West (although they had co-operated to achieve Canadian confederation). The Empire was founded when the previous conservative paper in Toronto,  The Toronto Mail, declared independence of any political party in 1886.
Macdonald and Brown were longstanding political opponents in Canada West, having worked together to bring about Canadian unity. The Empire was founded when the Toronto Mail, a prominent conservative newspaper at the time, declared its neutrality from all parties in 1886.