In 1912, members of the Association canadienne-française d'éducation de l'Ontario and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate – a religious order of the Catholic Church – gathered in Ottawa to discuss the founding of a newspaper to protest Regulation 17, which – until it was no longer enforced in 1927 – severely restricted the teaching of French in Ontario schools. That initial meeting led to the establishment of Le Droit, a Catholic French-language daily newspaper. The first six-page edition of 10,000 copies was published near this location, on March 27, 1913, with Father Charles Charlebois as its editor-in-chief. Over time, Le Droit became a mainstream daily newspaper serving the French-Canadian community in Ontario. In 1997, the newspaper campaigned successfully with the Franco-Ontarian community against the closing of the Ottawa Hôpital Montfort – the only French-language teaching hospital in the province. Le Droit continues actively to support and defend Franco-Ontarian rights and aspirations.

Location

At the corner of Sussex Drive and York Street in Ottawa.

Themes

• Arts and culture
• Franco-Ontarian heritage
• Transportation systems and communications