Fonds F 0195 - L'Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste fonds

L’Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste (better known outside Windsor as la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste or SSJB) was founded in Montreal in 1834 by newspaper editor Ludger Duvernay, and gained momentum in the 1840s, thanks to clergy support and a desire among its promoters to advance the interests of French-speaking Canadians. It is the oldest patriotic association in French North America and has a long history of fighting for language rights and promoting francophone identity. In Quebec, it has often taken a leading role in movements related to Quebec nationalism. Duvernay chose, and Catholic clergy later revived, the feast day of St. John the Baptist (June 24th) as a national holiday for French Canadians, and branches were established in parishes throughout North America as French Canadians migrated across the continent.

A branch was established in Detroit in 1864; Windsor hosted a large SSJB patriotic convention in 1883. Two branches are known to have existed in Essex County in the early 20th century: one at Stoney Point/Pointe-aux-Roches; the other in Windsor/the Border Cities. By the 1960s publications cited a branch for Western Ontario, which may have included or merged these earlier branches. Like most SSJB branches outside of Quebec, mutual aid and patriotic education were integral to the organization’s activities in Windsor/Essex County. In March 1939, the Ontario SSJBs formed the Fédération des sociétés Saint-Jean-Baptiste de l’Ontario – comprising 12 affiliated societies and 5,000 members. The SSJB in both Ontario and Quebec experienced a surge of growth in the mid-20th century. This increase in membership added force to the Ontario federation’s activism, which included successful campaigns to re-establish the use of French, expand French instruction in secondary schools, and establish French-language radio and television stations. The federation was also the driving force behind the first project to create a Franco-Ontarian flag. In Windsor/Essex County, the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste was responsible for the establishment of a newsletter (the Bulletin) in the late 1950s which grew into Le Rempart, a weekly newspaper still serving the local francophone community in 2024.

Sources: Contents of fonds; Marc-André Gagnon, “Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste,” The Canadian Encyclopedia (Historica Canada: 2006; last edited 2016), https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-jean-baptiste-society (accessed 6 December 2024).