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. |