HISTORY

•  Following the establishment of the Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Chair of Canadian Studies in 1969, “The Anchorage,” historic home of Marion and Captain R.V. Bennett, brother of former Canadian Prime Minister R.B. Bennett, was bequeathed to Mount Allison to become the Centre for Canadian Studies.  Officially opened in 1979 by then Governor-General of Canada, the Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, the Centre became an important institution dedicated to the study of Canada.  The Centre’s first director, the distinguished Dr. George Stanley, and Centre directors since, worked with colleagues from across campus, students, and visiting scholars to foster discussion and research about Canada at Mount Allison. Some of the highlight activities  resulting from these collaborations include an important series of studies on Canadian regionalism and cultural life; a popular and well-attended series of conferences on contemporary Canadian issues in the late 1990s; a ten-volume study of democracy in Canada organized by former Director Dr. William Cross; the Canadian Alternatives Project, a series of conferences and publications organized by previous Director Dr. Andrew Nurse, and various internet publications and student activities. The Centre and Program have also hosted many writers and guest speakers over the years, such as Timothy Findley, John Gray, Ralf Gustafson, Hugh MacLennan, Al Purdy, and George Walker, among others; and Margaret Conrad, Naomi Griffiths, Pauline Greenhill, Malcolm Ross, and Maria Tippet, again among others. Today, the former site of the Centre, The Anchorage, is one of Mount Allison’s Small Residence Experience and the Centre for Canadian Studies is located with the Canadian Studies Program in Hart Hall.