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• James Baby 1763-1833
  Born to a well-established mercantile family in British Detroit, James Baby was the first member of Upper Canada's French community to gain prominence in government circles. In 1792, he received lifetime appointments to the executive and legislative councils.

• French Settlement of the South Shore
  In 1749, French settlers from parishes along the St. Lawrence were encouraged to relocate along the Detroit River. Joined by discharged soldiers and civilians from Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit), they formed the first permanent agricultural settlement of European origin in what is now Ontario.

• Jesuit Mission to the Hurons, The
  The Jesuit mission at Detroit was moved to Bois Blanc Island in 1742 but subsequently reestablished in the vicinity of present-day Windsor, closer to the defences at Detroit. With the arrival of French settlers in the area, the Huron mission served both native and European residents, and in 1767 became the Parish of Assumption, the earliest Roman Catholic parish in present-day Ontario.

• Father Pierre Potier 1708-1781
  A Jesuit missionary and scholar, Potier was appointed to the Huron mission at the mouth of the Detroit River in 1744. As the first pastor of Assumption Parish, he ministered to both the Hurons and the French-Canadian settlers in the Windsor area until his death.

• Founding of Belle River, The
  As a regional shipping point in the 1850s, Belle River enjoyed a certain amount of prosperity. Throughout most of the 19th century, milling was the major industry in this small community founded by French settlers from the Detroit River area.

• Founding of Stoney Point, The
  Coincident with increased travel along the Tecumseh Road in the 1830s, small communities of predominantly French-speaking settlers began to form along the south shore of Lake St. Clair. Stoney Point (Pointe aux Roches) flourished briefly in mid-18th century until depletion of local timber resources reduced the village's mainstay industry.

• Founding of Tecumseh, The
  Originally a way-station on the Tecumseh Road in the 1850s, this predominantly French-speaking community evolved into a significant shipping point for local grain and timber.

• Marie-Rose Turcot 1887-1977
  Born in Laurierville, Quebec, Marie-Rose Turcot moved to Ottawa around the age of 20 to work in the civil service. Later, working as a journalist, Marie-Rose Turcot published in the daily newspaper Le Droit, as well as in several other weekly and daily publications in Ottawa and Montreal, sometimes using the pseudonym Constance Bayard. She also worked in broadcast journalism for the French radio station CKCH in Hull, Quebec. Turcot was the author of a...

• CFCL Radio
  The first French-language radio station in Ontario, CFCL-Timmins, began broadcasting in December 1951. The event was greeted with enthusiasm by Franco-Ontarians who until then had heard limited programming in French over the airwaves. The station reached listeners from Kirkland Lake to Hearst, showcasing local talent and creating a sense of community among the widely dispersed francophone population of northern Ontario. Daily features on French life in the region taught cultural pride, the love of one's...

• French Presence in Hearst, The
  French Canadians began to settle in Hearst in 1912 during the construction of the National Transcontinental Railway. Most came to farm but soon turned to the more lucrative forest industry. Sawmills established by French Canadians prospered as family enterprises for decades, before being amalgamated into large forest-product companies by the end of the 20th century. Over the years, the French-speaking community in Hearst – once a minority – grew to 89% of the population with...

• French Presence in Lafontaine, The
  French explorers first arrived in the Lafontaine area around 1610. An intermittent French presence of fur traders, soldiers and missionaries continued until 1650 when the sojourns ended after the Huron-Iroquois wars. Eventually a group of former French Canadian and Métis voyageurs from Drummond Island settled here in 1830 followed by successive waves of immigrants from Quebec, the three main groups originating from Batiscan, Joliette and the counties of Soulanges and Vaudreuil. The church and parish...

• French-Canadian Settlement and the CPR in the Mattawa Area
  Francophone settlement rapidly increased in the Mattawa area with the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1881. During construction of the rail line, the local economy benefitted from the presence of thousands of French-Canadian workers, some of whom were accompanied by their families. Once the railway was operational, the local lumber industry expanded and Mattawa prospered as a community, a supply and transportation hub, and a lumber depot. Development was also stimulated in...

• Jeanne Lajoie, 1899-1930
  Jeanne Lajoie, a dedicated teacher and advocate for the establishment of French schools in Ontario, was born in Lefaivre, near Hawkesbury, in 1899. In 1923, Lajoie helped a group of francophone parents to establish the first independent French school in Pembroke. The school ensured that their children were educated in their own language. The creation of L'École Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc was one of the last major events in the Franco-Ontarian struggle against Regulation 17, which from...

• French Community in Welland
  The neighbourhood that became commonly known as "French Town" was established in this area in 1918, when approximately 20 French-Canadian families arrived from Quebec to work at the Empire Cotton Mills plant. The Roman Catholic Parish of Sacré-Cœur was established in 1920 and became the cultural centre of the francophone community that developed around Empire Street. Additional French-Canadian families arrived from Quebec, New Brunswick and northern Ontario throughout the 1920s. Another wave of francophones moved...

• Sacré-Cœur Parish
  In 1887, Sacré-Cœur Parish was founded as the first Roman Catholic parish to serve the French-Canadian community in Toronto. Father Philippe Lamarche came from Montreal to found the church and served as priest until his death in 1924. The Parish's first church building, located on King Street near Sackville Street, was purchased from a Presbyterian congregation in 1888. Since that time, francophones have been able to worship in their own language at Sacré-Cœur Church. This...

• Champlain in Ontario, 1615
  In April 1615, Samuel de Champlain (c.1574-1635) embarked from Honfleur, upon his seventh voyage to New France. Upon arrival in Quebec, Champlain was informed of increasing tensions with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) the traditional rival of his Anishinabe (Algonquian) and Wendat (Huron) allies. He travelled west to Huronia on a diplomatic and military expedition where he visited several villages including Cahiagué, a large and important Wendat settlement. With a mixed force of 400-500 First Nations warriors...

• Fort Rouillé
  The last French post established in what is now southern Ontario, Fort Rouillé was built in 1750-51 to help strengthen French control of trade in the Great Lakes region. It was a palisaded fortification with four bastions and five main buildings.

• de Puisaye Settlement 1799, The
  Led by the Comte de Puisaye, some 40 exiled French royalists attempted to form a settlement in uncleared townships along Yonge Street. The noblemen and their servants could not adapt to the rigours of pioneer life and by 1806 most had returned to Europe.

• Father Louis Hennepin
  A native of Belgium, this adventurous Récollet priest travelled widely in Europe before setting sail for New France in 1675. Hennepin served as chaplain on La Salle's 1679 Mississippi expedition and later published an account of the voyage, which contains the first recorded description of Niagara Falls.

• Joseph-Geneviève, Comte de Puisaye
  A leader of royalist resistance in France, Puisaye (c.1755-1827) was outlawed and sought refuge in England for a time before coming to Upper Canada in 1798. He established a short-lived settlement north of present-day Toronto prior to settling in the Niagara area.

• Moose Factory
  Built in 1673, captured by the French under the Chevalier de Troyes in 1686, and returned to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Moose Fort served as the Hudson's Bay Company's principal centre on James Bay for two centuries. All inland exploration radiated from the fort.

• Laurentian University of Sudbury
  Higher education in northern Ontario originated with the founding of Sacred Heart College in 1913, which later became the University of Sudbury. In 1960, Laurentian University was incorporated and the University of Sudbury, Huntingdon University, and subsequently Thorneloe University were federated with the new bilingual institution.

• Sacred Heart College
  Founded in 1913 by the Jesuits, exclusively French after 1916, Sacred Heart College was the centre of education for young Franco-Ontarians for decades. In 1957, it became the University of Sudbury, which a few years later formed the Catholic component of Laurentian University.

• Sainte-Anne des Pins
  Established as a mission by the Jesuits in 1883, Sainte-Anne des Pins played a prominent role in the development of Franco-Ontarian culture in the region. Until 1917, it was the only Roman Catholic congregation in Sudbury.

• Jesuit Mission to Manitoulin 1648-50, The
  The first recorded European resident of Manitoulin Island was Father Joseph Poncet who established a mission to serve the island's Algonkian-speaking people in 1648. The mission was abandoned in 1650, however, following the destruction of the Huron nation by the Iroquois.

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