The Village of St. Brieux has a rich francophone heritage, as it was settled by about 40 families of Bretons from St-Brieuc, France in 1904. Under the guidance of Father Le Floc’h, they made their way from France, to Halifax, to Prince Albert and finally ended up at the present town site. They left St-Malo, the same port from which Jacques Cartier sailed on his voyages of discovery, on 1 April 1904.

On 23 May they pitched camp at Fr. Paul LeFloc’h’s homestead, a spot they christened Plaine. During their settlement, they erected a cross on the shores of Lake Lenore honouring French explorer, Jacque Cartier. By the time they applied for a post office a few months later, they had decided to honour their home community in France by naming both their parish and their post office St. Brieux. It is probable that the switch from c' tox’ in the name was a Post Office Department typographical error.