Newspapers were part of the movement of French-speaking people into the West. They were sent to friends and relatives, or distributed through government agencies in Quebec, the United States, or Europe as propaganda for Western Canada. The theme of colonization runs through them, especially in the brief reports of small communities ("Mr. so-and-so is getting 18 bushels per acre this year" or "A blacksmith would succeed quite well here").
The French weeklies also sought to protect and promote the interests of the French-speaking minorities in all three provinces. They took sides on political questions and rival newspapers were often established at election time. The oldest was Le MÄtis, founded in St. Boniface in 1871. Among other prominent weeklies was Le Courier de l'Ouest, published in Edmonton after 1905. In all, over twenty French newspapers were published at various times in Western Canada between 1870 and 1920.
