When James Beaty, Sr., founded the "Toronto Leader" in 1852 he hired Lindsey as editor. There, Lindsey put his support behind Hincks's government, to the consternation of many Reformers who had become disappointed with Hincks. Lindsey's politics were liberal and avoided the extremes of the Tories and the Grits. The paper came to rival Brown's "Globe" in influence. Lindsey was appointed an honorary commissioner to the 1855 World Exposition in Paris. In 1862 he published a biography of William Lyon Mackenzie, arguing the long-term positive effects of the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837.