Born near Brampton, educated there and at the Toronto Normal School, Gage taught for a time and studied medicine for a year before joining, in 1874, the publishing house of Adam Miller and Co. In 1875 he became a partner and five years later reorganized the firm as W.J. Gage and Co. Specializing in educational books, it became one of the most successful publishing houses in Canada. A philanthropist and a pioneer in the public battle against tuberculosis, Gage established several free hospitals and sanatoria. He died in Toronto.