Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne

Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse: Nova Scotia’s only French-language provincial newspaper - Le Petit Courrier was founded in 1937 by Désiré d'Éon of Pubnico-Ouest, to bring together and inform the Acadian population of southwestern Nova Scotia. In its early days, the newspaper focused on the achievements of its readers, their comings and goings and the main events in their lives. Here is a list of community events (birthdays, deaths, etc.) for the year 1967, the centennial year of Canada.

In 1972, about fifteen people decided to buy the newspaper, and founded Imprimerie Lescarbot. A larger format was adopted and Le Petit Courrier became Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Its offices moved from West Pubnico to Yarmouth, under the direction of Cyrille LeBlanc.

In 1987, the "Société de presse acadienne", a non-profit corporation comprised of 17 Acadian associations spread across the province, acquired Le Courrier. Its objective is to publish a French-language newspaper, an important expression of identity that reflects life in Nova Scotia’s Acadian regions. In 2000, the offices were transferred to Clare. The previous year, Denise Comeau-Desautels, who had worked for the paper since 1996, was named general manager, a position she held until her recent retirement in 2017.

The Nova Scotia Archives scanned the contents of Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse from 1937 to 2002. These are 68,352 pages (3419 issues) that can be viewed online from their site. Having on-line access to Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse provides the Acadian and francophone community with a connection to a major and significant part of its 20th century history through journalistic coverage of daily life, important events and Acadians wherever they were.

Without a newspaper, the stories of a group are left untold, while a group with a newspaper forms a community!

Topic: Arts and Culture

Date: 1968

Reference: John Blinn fonds Centre Acadien Boîte 15, Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse 1968-1969 (le jeudi 4 janvier 1968, p. 5)

For more information, visit the Centre Acadien website.