Bridging the Gap – The Current State of Historical Societies in Canada

In the context of the 100^th anniversary of the Canadian Historical Association (CHA) in 2022, and in the wake of the research project Agents mémoriels, un engagement d’hier à aujourd’hui, the CHA and the Fédération Histoire Québec (FHQ) took the opportunity to launch exchanges on the shared contribution to historical knowledge of the various historical societies in Canada.

A first webinar, bringing together seven organizations, took place in February 2023. At a follow-up meeting in May 2023, it was agreed to produce a current state of historical societies in Canada.  A steering committee made up of the CHA, the FHQ, the Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française (IHAF) and the British Columbia Historical Federation (BCFHS) was then set up to coordinate its production.

Published digitally in June 2024, the report presents data from a survey of 14 Canadian historical societies, both professional and citizen-based, pan-Canadian as well as provincial and territorial. In addition to overall observations, the report presents responses according to five themes:

1. Mission, objectives and organizational history
2. Organizational life
3. Achievements
4. Collaborations
5. Challenges and outlook

The report was the subject of a presentation at the Canadian Historical Association’s annual meeting in Montreal in June 2024, a recording of which can be found on the CHA’s YouTube channel.

We encourage you to read the report and share it as widely as possible. We also invite you to share this press release as widely as possible.

The report is available online:

• Full version: Bridging the Gap – The current state of historical societies in Canada
• Abridged version: Bridging the Gap – The current state of historical societies in Canada

To find out more about this initiative, visit Bridging the Gap – The State of Canada’s Historical Societies.

The Steering Committee
Rosa Flinton-Brown, President                                  Jean-Louis Vallée, President
British Columbia Historical Federation                    Fédération Histoire Québec

Thomas Wien, President                                            Donald Wright, President
Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française             Canadian Historical Association

Contact – cha-shc@cha-shc.ca