Association for Canadian Studies

Association for Canadian Studies
Name	Association for Canadian Studies
Formation	1973
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec
Region served	Canada
Leader title	President

Association for Canadian Studies is a Canadian non-profit learned society dedicated to the interdisciplinary study and promotion of Canadian affairs. It engages scholars, institutions, and the public through research, publications, and events that connect historical, political, cultural, and social perspectives. The association collaborates with universities, foundations, museums, and media to advance knowledge about Canada both domestically and internationally.

History

The organization was founded in 1973 amid renewed interest in bilingualism and biculturalism following the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, the adoption of the Official Languages Act, and debates surrounding the 1970s Canadian constitutional reform and the rise of Quebec nationalism. Early patrons and collaborators included figures from McGill University, Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, Carleton University, and cultural institutions such as the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During the late 20th century the association responded to milestones such as the repatriation of the Constitution of Canada, the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accord debates by fostering interdisciplinary projects with partners including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and provincial archives. Its historical projects often intersected with scholarship on figures like John A. Macdonald, Wilfrid Laurier, Pierre Trudeau, René Lévesque, and events such as the October Crisis, the Quiet Revolution, and the National Energy Program debates.

Mission and Objectives

The association’s mission emphasizes research, public outreach, and education about Canadian society through collaboration with academic centres, cultural organizations, and public policy institutes. Objectives include promoting comparative studies involving countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Germany; supporting bilingual scholarship involving English-speaking Canada and French-speaking Quebec institutions; and encouraging work on Indigenous issues connected to nations like the Mi'kmaq, Cree, Haida, Mohawk, and Inuit. It seeks to bridge scholarship from departments and units at institutions such as Queen's University, University of British Columbia, Université Laval, Dalhousie University, and Simon Fraser University with museums like the Canadian Museum of History, archives like Library and Archives Canada, and policy bodies including the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Organization and Governance

The association is governed by an elected board of directors and advisory committees composed of academics, librarians, archivists, and cultural managers from institutions such as York University, Université du Québec, Bishop's University, Mount Royal University, and the University of Saskatchewan. Its secretariat and administrative offices have sat in Montreal alongside partners like the Association francophone pour le savoir and research networks funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Leadership roles have included scholars with affiliations to departments of history, political science, sociology, and cultural studies at universities including McMaster University, Concordia University, Royal Military College of Canada, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. Governance practices reflect standard procedures used by organizations such as the Royal Society of Canada and international learned societies including the American Historical Association and the British Academy.

Research, Publications, and Programs

The association publishes journals, working papers, and policy briefs in collaboration with presses and journals such as University of Toronto Press, McGill-Queen's University Press, Canadian Journal of Political Science, and Canadian Historical Review. It has sponsored bibliographies, surveys, and comparative research on subjects tied to figures like Emily Carr, Tommy Douglas, Lester B. Pearson, Stephen Harper, and topics connected to the Fisheries Act debates, the National Policy, and regional studies of the Prairies, the Maritimes, and the Northwest Territories. Programs have included bilingual research fellowships, partnerships with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, digital projects with Canadiana.org, and education initiatives aligned with curriculum makers at provincial ministries such as Ontario Ministry of Education and Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur (Québec). It maintains archives of proceedings and collaborates with repositories like Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Conferences and Events

The association organizes annual conferences, symposia, and workshops that draw participants from institutions including Harvard University, Oxford University, Université de Paris, University of Sydney, and Canadian universities. Themes have encompassed constitutional change, bilingualism, Indigenous-settler relations, immigration linked to waves from United Kingdom, China, India, Philippines, and Syria, and cultural policy discussions involving the National Arts Centre and the Toronto International Film Festival. Events often feature keynote speakers who are scholars, former politicians, or cultural figures such as Margaret Atwood, Marshall McLuhan, Thomas Flanagan, John Ralston Saul, and public intellectuals from think tanks like the C.D. Howe Institute and the Fraser Institute.

Membership and Affiliations

Membership encompasses individual researchers, university departments, libraries, museums, and government agencies. Institutional members have included the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, provincial archives, and university centres such as the Canadian Studies Centre at the University of Calgary, the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University, and international partners in consortia with the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States and European Canadian studies networks at institutions like Leiden University and University of Edinburgh. The association maintains collaborative ties with organizations including the International Council for Canadian Studies, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, and provincial cultural bodies.

Category:Canadian learned societies