Intending to create a chain of friendship and fraternity among the French Canadians and offer them a frame for personal, social and cultural fulfillment, the Richelieu Society ('Société Richelieu') obtained its federal charter in 1944 and the first Club Richelieu opened in Ottawa in 1945. It became an international movement, the first club outside Canada opening in the United States in 1955, than in France in 1969, Belgium in 1974 and later in several other countries.

In April 1970, Paul Emile Belanger and Gilles Gatien, representatives from Richelieu International, visited Edmonton, Alberta; soon after Club Richelieu d’Edmonton was founded, receiving its charter on November 26, 1971. The founding president of Club Richelieu d’Edmonton was Hervé Durocher. Club Richelieu d’Edmonton was incorporated as the Richelieu Society July 17, 1973 under the Societies Act to promote brotherhood and understanding. The Richelieu Society changed its name to Le Club de Service Jean Patoine, which was registered under the Societies Act on October 16, 2001 with the same mission of promoting the fraternity among its members and helping the youth. The club is managed by a board of eight directors elected annually, and an executive office including a president, a vice-president, a treasurer, and a secretary.

Since its foundation in 1971, more than 1 million dollars have been allocated to different francophone groups and to youth. A Jean Patoine Bursary Fund for Campus Saint-Jean (University of Alberta) was established in the 1980s and a bursary is awarded every year to a francophone student.