Pierre Foglia

Early Years

Pierre Foglia lived most of his childhood in France before immigrating to California at the age of 15, and then to Quebec where he settled. He had several professions before starting to practise journalism in the weekly Québécois press.

Career at La Presse

In 1972, he joined the newspaper La Presse where he initially specialized in covering sporting events before filling a role as a regular general columnist. The originality of his columns on the most varied topics is such that Foglia attracts an enthusiastic following that has continued to increase through the years. Foglia is a brilliant storyteller who demonstrates great independence of spirit and much audacity on the subjects he deals with. His style is incisive, even vicious, and his writings often go against the grain of public opinion.

A great lover of sports, Pierre Foglia continued to cover international sporting events such as the Tour de France. The editors of La Presse even made him a special envoy whom they send regularly to the four corners of the globe. Several of his reports from abroad were judged exceptional, namely his dedicated series about Russia and the effects of the economic embargo on Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

A CROP poll, taken in 1998, established Pierre Foglia as the best-known and most appreciated journalist of the written press by the Québécois population. He retired from La Presse in 2015 after more than 35 years as a journalist, columnist and special envoy. He still occasionally contributed to the newspaper.