MONTREAL, May 1 -- Transcontinental announced today it has purchased Le Progrès de Coaticook weekly community newspaper and the two regional directories it publishes annually from owner Henri Gérin. The 56-year-old weekly has a circulation of over 8500 and serves the residents of Coaticook County in Quebec's Eastern Townships region. Transcontinental Media now owns 94 community newspapers in Quebec with an annual circulation of 58 million copies, the largest network in the province. In Canada, Transcontinental owns 162 local dailies and regional newspapers totalling 250 million copies per year. "We're very pleased to include Le Progrès de Coaticook among our portfolio of newspapers," said Marc Ouellette, senior vice president of Transcontinental Media's Newspaper group. "We are proud to continue the strong tradition of local journalism the paper's employees have built." For his part, Henri Gérin, owner of Le Progrès de Coaticook since 2000, commented: "I am pleased to hand over the voice of my region to Transcontinental, as I am confident that, with its history of serving community needs across Quebec and Canada through local newspapers, it will maintain the standards our readers have enjoyed since 1950."