This article situates the founding of Le Naturaliste canadien in the general context of the development of natural sciences in the 19th century. It outlines the creation of the first scientific institutions in Canada (i.e., learned societies, universities and journals), and then focuses on the contributions of Abbé Léon Provancher and his journal to the advancement of science in the Victorian era. In founding Le Naturaliste canadien, Provancher combined his business acumen with his passion for scientific culture and became a pioneer of the pan-Canadian scientific movement in the last third of the 19th century.