Historians contribute to the collective memory but, because of their use of methodical investigations, their input is different from other contributors. Although they may be engaged citizens, historians must maintain a necessary distance. This is difficult to do in Francophone minority communities. Being marginalised in various ways, the latter are constantly seeking justice and recognition. In their struggles, Francophone minority leaders refer constantly to the community’s deep roots in their location and to their heroic struggles. They believe or want to believe that there was always unanimity within the “community”. This article’s goal is to understand the relationship between memory and history in Francophone minority settings. To achieve this, the author relies on the work of foreign and Canadian historians who have studied the question and provides recent examples. Partly analytical, the article is also a testimony based on the author’s own experiences in French Ontario.