The early Canadian press is a privileged witness of the political and social changes that took place during the XIXth century in Canada. In this particular press, translation plays an important part since newspapers published abroad and in a foreign language are the main sources of information of the editors of that period. La Minerve, one of the first newspapers published in Montreal (1826-1899), is of particular importance as it is published throughout most of the XIXth century. This newspaper has an intense translational activity. Through the study of translation in La Minerve, it is possible to observe the «relationship of political inequality» (Simon 1989: 19) between English Canada and French Canada. The examples cited in this article show that translation in La Minerve is used as an instrument for the defense of the French-speaking Canadian people, surrounded by Anglophones.