History and Timeline

The Association of Canadian Archives (ACA) began prior to 1975 when members of the Archives Section of the Canadian Historical Association (CHA) developed and ratified an independent mandate. The ACA Constitution was ratified at the 1975 meeting of the CHA in Edmonton. The first issue of Archivaria and the Archives Bulletin were also published this year, and the Association held its first annual conference in Quebec City. The ACA was incorporated in 1977. 

Below is a timeline with some highlights from the ACA since 1975.

1975

• ACA constitution ratified at the last meeting of the Archives Section of the CHA in Edmonton
  
• Published first issue of Archivaria, edited by Peter Bower
  
• Published first issue of Archives Bulletin, edited by Linda Johnson
  
• Held first annual conference in Edmonton
  
• Co-founded the Bureau of Canadian Archivists with the AAQ
  
• Guidelines Toward a Curriculum for a Master’s Degree in Archival Science prepared by Hugh Taylor and Edwin Welch
  

1976

• Published the Directory of Canadian records and manuscript repositories
  
• Tradition of dancing at the ACA banquet begins in Fredericton with a square dance
  
• Annual conference held in Quebec City
  

1977

• ACA incorporated
  
• First east-west baseball game played at the annual conference
  
• Annual conference held in Fredericton
  

1978

• Awarded first honorary membership to W. Kaye Lamb
  
• The Archives Bulletin becomes the ACA Bulletin
  
• Annual conference held in London, Ontario
• ACA logo was adopted, designed by Will Rueter, of UTP
  

1979

• Presented brief to the Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee
  
• Annual conference held in Saskatoon
  

1980

• Awarded the first W. Kaye Lamb Prize to Ian E. Wilson for the best article in Archivaria, with Dr. Lamb in attendance
  
• Annual conference held in Montréal

1983

• Special Interest Sections created for University and College Archives and Religious Archives
  
• Supported the creation of the Canadian Council of Archives
  
• Annual conference held in Vancouver
  

1985

• First ACA Membership Directory is distributed
  
• ACA hires its first Office Manager, Gina Meacoe. It marked a significant milestone inthe maturing of the association (and profession), and could no longer afford to have Board members' energies spent processing memberships on their kitchen tables after the dishes were done.
  
• Annual conference held in Edmonton
  

1986

• Annual conference in Winnipeg is the last held as part of the meetings of the Learned societies
  
• Produced Guidelines for the Development of a two-year Curriculum for a Master of Archival Studies

 1990

• Collaborated with the Canadian archival community in the development and publication of Rules for Archival Description
  
• Produced Guidelines for the Development of Post-Appointment and Continuing Education and Training Programmes
  
• Annual conference held in Victoria
  

1991

• Published The Archival Imagination: Essays in Honour of Hugh A. Taylor, edited by Barbara Craig
  
• Developed the Education Programme and Plan
  
• Special Interest Section on Electronic Records formed
  
• Annual conference held in Banff
  

1992

• Collaborated with the SAA in the publication of Canadian Archives and the Rediscovery of Provenance, edited by Tom Nesmith.
  
• Annual conference held in Montréal

1993

• Annual conference held north of 60° in Whitehorse, Yukon
  
• ACA web site launched, co-edited by Catherine Bailey and Paul Marsden
  
• Annual conference held in St. John's NL
  

1996

• Special Interest Section on Aboriginal Archives formed
  
• Annual conference held north of 60° in Whitehorse, Yukon
  

1997

• Terry Cook and Barbara Craig lead the first ACA Institute in Ottawa
  
• Annual conference held in Ottawa

1999

• AGM passes a unanimous resolution supporting the release of historical federal census records
  
• Special Interest Section on Personal Archives formed
  
• Annual conference held in London, Ontario

2001

• Mentorship pilot program launched in cooperation with the AABC
  
• Collaborated with the SAA in the publication of Imagining Archives: Essays and
  
• Reflections by Hugh A. Taylor, edited by Terry Cook and Gordon Dodds
  
• Membership grows to over 600 members
  
• ACA moves into shared offices with the CCA
  
• Annual conference held in Winnipeg, MB
  

2003

• First Student Chapter formed at the University of British Columbia (SLAIS)
  
• Archivaria 56 published, special edition containing a 396-page index, a testament and guide to Canadian archival scholarship
  

 2004

• Engaging and exciting conference held in Montréal, QC
  
• Review & Renewal project launched with survey of members & non-members
  

 2005

• Engaging and exciting conference held in St. John’s, NL
  
• ACA digitizes the entire collection of Archivaria issues & posted on the web
  

 2006

• e-Archivaria formally launched with its Main & Reserve Collections
  
• Canadian Archivist digitized and posted on the web
  
• Engaging and exciting conference held at Queen’s University in Saskatoon, SK
  

2007

• Reviewed General Bylaw (from R&R recommendations) approved at AGM
  
• Engaging and exciting conference held in Kingston

2008

• Reviewed General Bylaw #2 (from R&R recommendations) approved at AGM 
  
• Engaging and exciting conference held in Fredericton, NB 

2009

• First ACA conference held in Calgary, AB is very well attended, offers excellent sessions and is financially successful
  
• A new look and structure is introduced for ACA’s website
  

2010

• Archivaria is awarded an A+ in an international review of journals
  
• New web 2.0 services are introduced to the Members website
  

2011

• Advocacy efforts directed to 2011 Census,
  
• Event listing service is introduced to the ACA website
  
• A Task Force is established to revise the Education Guidelines

2012

• The Canadian Archives System Taskforce (CAST) established
  
• A very engaged and animated conference is held in Whitehorse, YT
  
• Advocacy efforts directed to the reinstatement of the National Archives Development Program (NADP)
  
• The ACA Foundation completes the Continuance process under the new Canada Not-for-Profit Act
  

2013

• A very engaged and animated conference is held in Winnipeg, MB
  
• Members approved addition of a sixth Director to the ACA Board of Directors
  
• An Experts and Consultants Directory is introduced on the ACA website while a workshop on Consulting is held in Victoria
  
• The ACA Bulletin move from print to a blog format
  

2014

• Annual conference held in Victoria, BC
• Maureen Tracey joins the ACA as Client Services Coordinator
  

2015

• Annual conference held in Regina, SK

2016

• Annual conference held in Montréal, QC
  

2017

• Annual conference held in Ottawa, ON
• The ACA Board passed the Association of Canadian Archivists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
  
• ACA hires Jo McCutcheon as Executive Director
  

2018

• Moving Forward Together, 2018-2021 Strategic Plan is endorsed by members in the ACA’s first online vote
  
• Members endorse a revised Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
  
• Annual conference is held in Edmonton, AB
• The ACA Board passes the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Response Protocol

2019

• Annual conference is held in Toronto, ON