North-Central Alberta
From a certain perspective, the community of St. Albert could be considered as the first centre of French Canadian settlement in Alberta. The lands were ultimately divided into river lots and given to the local Métis in the scrip settlement.
The first French-Canadian settlers to come to the area and claim land for farming were the two Lamoureux brothers who arrived in autumn 1872.
- Joseph and Frank had been traveling through the United States. They met up accidentally in Oregon after not having seen each other for many years. Together they headed for the Caribou gold rush but didn't find any gold. They had been told of the fertile Saskatchewan valley and headed that way. They settled across from Fort Saskatchewan, approximately 10 kilometres from St. Albert. The brothers sent for the rest of their family and a number of friends to come and join them at Lamoureux.
Several years later, in 1890, settlement in the region was officially promoted by the young priest Jean-Baptiste Morin. He was recruiting settlers having been named to the position with the support of Bishop Vital Grandin and father Albert Lacombe
- From his office in Montreal, Morin gave presentations and prepared promotional articles for French-Canadians on settlement in Alberta.
- He visited the northern United States frequently. Historian Donald Smith notes that of the 620 families who settled eight localities in Alberta, more than half were from the United States, while only a fifth of were from Quebec.
- Morin was considered to be the founder of Morinville and Beaumont where several hundred French-Canadian families eventually settled.
Nine localities in the area ( Edmonton, St. Albert, Morinville, Fort Saskatchewan or Lamoureux, Stony Plain, Beaumont, St. Pierre de Villeneuve, Rivière-qui-Barre, and Vegreville) were settled by migrants from Eastern Canada and immigrants from the northern United States.
