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Published in Edmonton from 1905 to 1915, Le Courrier de l’Ouest was the only French language newspaper in Western Canada at the time of its first publication.¹ The four main shareholders were Senator Philippe Roy, who owned 12 of the 60 shares; Charles W. Cross, an Edmonton lawyer; Frank Oliver, owner of the Edmonton Bulletin; and Prospère-Edmond Lessard, a well-known Edmonton merchant.

The main goal of the paper was to promote settlement in the West by francophone settlers. Given its mandate, the newspaper was distributed in Quebec, New England and several European countries with a French-speaking population.

At its peak stage, the paper had an edition of 3,000 papers. Since it served the population of the Canadian West, its pages tell a great deal about the activities of the francophone population of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The paper can be read on microfilm and is slated to be digitized within the Bruce Peel Collection of the University of Alberta.