By launching a French-language service, The Canadian Press became the world’s first bilingual news agency.
In the early years, The Canadian Press’s French service was mostly a writing and translation service, with very little on-the-ground reporting except on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and in Quebec City, where it had its own correspondents.
Established as a cooperative, the PC — as it is often referred to in the news industry — produced 30,000 words a day for the nine newspapers in Quebec and Le Droit in Ottawa.
In 1954, the Évangéline, based in Moncton, N.B., became the 11th member to join the cooperative, and the Action catholique in Quebec City joined two years later.
Over the years, The Canadian Press’s French service established itself as a true national news organization with its own field reporters and correspondents. News dispatches, originally transmitted by telegraph, were then sent via teletype, increasing the transmission speed from 66 words per minute to 300.
When The Canadian Press switched to satellites, its transmission speed rose to 19,200 words per minute. Computerization and the advent of the internet in the late 1990s eliminated transmission limitations.
The company ultimately abandoned the cooperative model and became a private corporation owned equally by the daily newspaper La Presse, The Globe and Mail and Torstar.
Over the course of its 75-year history, the PC's staff has distinguished itself in its coverage of major events, including numerous federal and provincial elections, referendums, and countless landmark moments in Quebec, Canada, or abroad.
The Canadian Press, with its reporters in the field and journalists assigned to various news desks, has always distinguished itself by its speed in responding to events without sacrificing the accuracy of the information.
Among these historic moments, The Canadian Press's French service provided comprehensive coverage, notably during: the October Crisis (1970), the Montreal Olympics (1976), the shooting of Corporal Denis Lortie at the National Assembly (1984), the Montreal flood (1987), the death of René Lévesque (1987), the Polytechnique tragedy (1989), the Oka Crisis (1990), the Canadiens’ last Stanley Cup victory (1993), the Saguenay flood (1996), the Éboulements tragedy (1997), the ice storm (1998), the Maple Spring (2012), the Lac-Mégantic train derailment (2013), the attack on the Grand Mosque of Quebec City (2017), the pandemic (2020–2022), the attack on a daycare centre in Laval (2023), and the truck-ramming attack in Amqui (2023).
The PC also sent journalists to cover the Olympic Games around the world, stationed correspondents in Afghanistan when Canada had troops there, and provided its members and subscribers with coverage of the extraordinary funerals of Maurice Richard, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and Guy Lafleur, held in Montreal.
These examples of the French service's coverage are just a tiny sample of the agency’s work that enables all French-language media outlets that are members or subscribers to its services to inform their audiences about events taking place outside their own coverage areas.
All major French-language media outlets employ journalists who once worked at The Canadian Press, which also boasted a few famous writers in the very early days of its French Service. These include the poets Alfred DesRochers and Olivier Marchand, the essayist Jean Lemoyne, the columnist Guy Fournier, comedian and screenwriter Carl Dubuc, and journalist Michel Roy, who would eventually hold executive positions at Le Devoir and La Presse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.
By Pierre Saint-Arnaud | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Un des meilleurs amis de Charles d'OD prend sa défense et parle des commentaires haineux
Cette édition d'OD est marquée par plusieurs candidats aux fortes personnalités comme Julie, Karine, ou Charles. Ce dernier a reçu de nombreux commentaires haineux du public dans les dernières semaines et son ami Le Fit Cook prend la défense de Charles d'OD dans une publication Instagram.
Jérémie Latreille, surnommé « Le Fit Cook » a publié le mardi 27 octobre une photo avec son ami, candidat de l'aventure d'Occupation Double Chez Nous.
Dans la description de sa publication, il mentionne que Charles ne mérite pas les commentaires haineux circulant sur les réseaux sociaux.
La sélection de l'éditeur : Une sexologue aborde la question du code vestimentaire non genré dans les écoles au Québec
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Il fait du mieux qu'il peut et il a 0 mauvaise intention. Il donne son opinion et prône des belles valeurs.
Le Fit Cook
« Charles est comme ça, il parle fort, il aime avoir le lead, il prend de la place, il est goon, il est loud et parfois même un peu arrogant. Ça fait pas de lui un mauvais gars, je vous confirme qu'il a le cœur dans la main prêt à aider n'importe qui », a écrit Le Fit Cook.
Il demande aux spectateurs de se mettre à la place de son ami avant d'écrire des commentaires négatifs et blessants. Ayant lui-même failli participer à OD l'an dernier, il confirme que l'expérience est « super stressante ».
Le cuisinier explique que Charles vit cette pression tous les jours dans l'aventure où il est jugé par le public québécois.
« Quand est-ce que se coucher à 9 h c'est rendu loser? Le boy est au gym à 5 h 30 le lendemain […] Moi je le trouve cock à l'os, il est en contrôle et il donne un bon show. »
Il rappelle aux spectateurs de la téléréalité : « Calmez-vous, c'est une émission télé dirigée par une équipe de prod. »