History
History of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA)
and the Canadian International Council (CIC)
The Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) was founded in 1928 with branches in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Representatives elected by the newly formed branches met as a national council in Ottawa on January 30, 1928 and, by adopting a constitution, formally organized the CIIA. By June 30, 1928, the membership of the five original branches of the CIIA was 144. In 1929, a branch was formed in Regina. Additional branches were formed in 1931 in Edmonton and Halifax, in 1932 in Saskatoon and Calgary, in 1933 in Hamilton and Kingston, in 1934 in Fredericton and Windsor, in 1936 in Victoria and Saint John, and in 1937 in London. Branches were later added in Quebec City (1943), Sherbrooke-Lennoxville (1944), Base Borden (1947), Kitchener-Waterloo (1947), St. John’s (1949), New York (1963), Wolfville Region (1964), Sackville (1966), Saguenay (1966), West Kootenay (1966), Niagara Region (1974) and Thunder Bay (1981). Women’s branches were formed in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Vancouver, and eventually amalgamated with the men’s branches in those communities. In the 1970s, French-speaking branches were formed in Montreal, Sept-Iles, Quebec and Moncton.
From 1928 to 1932, the branches were the centre of Institute activity. Indeed, as John Nelson wrote in 1930, “Unlike similar organizations in Great Britain and the United States, the Canadian Institute has taken the form of widely separated units rather than of one central organization.” In 1932, Escott Reid was appointed as the Institute’s first full-time National Secretary, a position he held until 1938. Reid began to build an effective central organization to encourage and coordinate branch research activities. Reid suggested the holding of annual study conferences where ideas could be exchanged. The conferences were largely round-table discussions and members of branch study groups were invited to participate. Reid also encouraged expansion of the CIIA’s membership and greater public participation in the work of the Institute. The Institute’s varied membership ensured that it would remain a forum for the expression of all views and not become a platform for government policy.
In 1946, the first issue of International Journal was released. The journal was intended from the outset to provide a platform for informed Canadian views on international affairs. Its existence encouraged Canadian commentators and academics to analyze international questions from a Canadian as well as a regional or international perspective.
The CIIA cooperated closely with the Department of External Affairs (now the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, or DFAIT) in promoting free and open interchanges between officials and members of the public on international issues. DFAIT and other government departments continued to provide speakers for Institute meetings, and members of both federal and provincial ministries participated in the Institute’s conferences. The CIIA also built an increasing number of partnerships with other private and voluntary institutions, the business community, universities and the media. The range of its contacts and partners in effect helped it to hold to the principle that it should be a place for the free expression of all opinion, not the advocate of a single point of view.
A March 2006 agreement between the CIIA and the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) of Waterloo, Ont., was designed to harness the natural synergies of the two non-partisan organizations. That agreement was followed by a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations in November 2007. That same month, the members of the CIIA approved that document and a name change by a 97 percent majority. With that historic vote, the CIIA, after almost 80 years, became the Canadian International Council (CIC).
CIIA Founders |
Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Borden C.A. Bowman Stanley Brent R.W. Brock Sir Arthur Currie J.W. Dafoe Sir Joseph Flavelle C.S. MacInnes John Mackay N.A.M. Mackenzie John Nelson Hon. Newton W. Rowell F.M. Southam |
Chairs and Presidents |
1933 Hon. N.W. Rowell, K.C. (President) 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 |
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