La Presse will sponsor the Canada Olympic team and be the official French-language newspaper of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

The newspaper has a circulation of around 815,000. Quebec, the French-speaking province of Canada, has a population of more than seven million. La Presse will have exclusive rights as an official supplier for the 2010 Winter Games and rights to associate with the Canadian Olympic team competing at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will use the partnership to gain greater regional advertising avenues through print and online advertising in eight publications owned by La Presse's parent company, Gesca Ltée. However, La Presse's editorial coverage of the Games will remain separate from the advertising deals.

"As Canada welcomes the Winter Games for the first time in 20 years, La Presse is proud to be part of this world-class event," said Guy Crevier, chairman and publisher of La Presse. "This prestigious association with Vancouver 2010 allows our advertisers to enjoy unique parallel advertising opportunities through such themes as sport, team spirit and excellence, both in our daily newspapers and online on Cyberpresse."

Vanoc chief executive John Furlong said: "This partnership provides VANOC and the 2010 Winter Games with the very best communications vehicles enabling us to further engage with French-speaking communities across the country to share and celebrate the spirit of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. We're very pleased to have La Presse's excellent team of newspapers on board - the calibre of their publications is a great fit with our commitment to ensure both of Canada's official languages are well represented and celebrated at the Games and all provinces feel a part of Canada's Games in 2010."