Le Rempart was founded in 1966 by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Western Ontario (ASJBOO). It transformed its newsletter of the same name into a tabloid-sized newspaper. The publication initially had only 500 subscribers. However, 5,000 copies were printed in order to reach all French-speaking households in the region. The first issues arrived in people's mailboxes with a note from then-President William Saint-Pierre encouraging them to subscribe. The newspaper was managed by ASJBOO until the early 1970s.

On February 15, 1972, the newspaper was taken over by a new publishing house, Les Publications des Grands Lacs, created by Louis-Joseph Richer of Pain Court, Marie Bésaire of Amherstburg, Ursule Leboeuf and François Caron of Pointe-aux-Roches , and Roger Bénéteau from Saint-Joachim. Subsequently, it was Jean Mongenais who took over the reins of the weekly and became editor of the publication. He held this position for around thirty years.

In 2002, Les Publications des Grands Lacs was bought by Denis Poirier, who at the same time became the new publisher of Le Rempart. Mr. Poirier (and later, the Altomédia company) also owns the newspapers Le Métropolitain (Toronto), Le Régional (Hamilton-Niagara), L’Action (London-Sarnia), and Bonjour Ontario.ca.

Today, Le  Rempart continues to appear weekly, but faces many challenges. Le Rempart remains extremely important in a French-speaking minority environment, since it acts as a showcase for the community and demonstrates its vitality.

(Source: Radio Canada. The newspaper “Le Rempart” celebrates its 50th anniversary. September 23, 2016 at 1:24 p.m. EST https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/804828/50-ans-journal-le-rempart-windsor-essex)

Le Rempart: Bulletin  de L’Association St-Jean Baptiste de l’Ouest de l’Ontario was the predecessor of the newspaper: Le Rempart. It appeared about 10 times per year between 1957 and 1961. At this time, there were many variations in the name of the Association. Le Rempart was first adopted as the newsletter’s title in April, 1959.

To read Le Rempart and Le Rempart: Bulletin online at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/lerempartwindsorontario

See also the current website: https://lerempart.ca