In 2015, the Federation celebrated its 75th anniversary. On this page you will learn about the beginnings of the Federation, which started as two small research councils meant to support Canadian scholars in the humanities and social sciences and later merged to become the current Federation.
Interactive timeline: History of the Federation
Try our interactive digital timeline! Scroll through our 75-year history with left/right buttons or drag the dates under the timeline with your mouse. Hover over bubbles to see key moments in our history, and click on bubbles to view archival materials and detailed explanations. Click on archival images to enlarge or shrink.
Early in their existence, the Humanities Research Council of Canada (HRC) and the Canadian Social Science Research Council (CSSRC) were non-governmental institutions created by the academic communities in these disciplines. The councils were focused on funding research, connecting scholars, and pursuing independent large-scale studies of their own. On the timeline, you will see some examples of those research projects and programs.
As the Canadian government began establishing its own bodies to support research, first in the form of the Canada Council and then in the form of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the two original councils — the HRC and the CSSRC — shifted towards becoming representatives for academic associations and universities. While certain programs, such as the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program, were still core to their operations, the councils now focused more on being a voice for the Canadian humanities and social science communities, and there was some evolution in their names.
Eventually, in 1996, what by then had become the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and the Social Science Federation of Canada merged. Today, the joint organization is the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, comprised of over 160 institutional, association and  affiliate members, and representing 91,000 Canadian scholars. The Federation remains the principal voice of the social science and humanities community, with a wide array of programming and policy work.
Peruse the interactive digital timeline to view highlights of our first 75 years, and visit the rest of the site to see how to engage with us now and into the future.
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Chairs of the Board/Past Presidents (1997- present)
Mike DeGagné
President and CEO of Indspire
2021 - Present
Patrizia Albanese
Sociology, Ryerson University
2019 - 2021
Guy Laforest
Political Science, Université Laval
2017 - 2019
Stephen Toope
Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
2015 – 2017
Antonia Maioni
Political Science, McGill University
2013 – 2015
Graham Carr
Concordia University
2011 – 2013
Nathalie DesRosiers
University of Ottawa    Â
2008 – 2009
Noreen Golfman
English, Memorial University of Newfoundland
2006 – 2008, 2009 – 2011​​​​
Don Fisher
Educational Studies, The University of British Columbia
2004 – 2006
Doug Owram
History, University of Alberta  Â
2002 – 2004
Patricia Clements
English, University of Alberta
2000 – 2002
Louise Forsyth
Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Saskatchewan
1998 – 2000
Chad Gaffield
History, University of Ottawa
1996 – 1998
John Scott
Philosophy, Memorial University of Newfoundland and LabradorÂ
Greg Kealey
History, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
1995 – 1996Â
CEOs/Executive Directors (1997- present)
Gabriel Miller
President and CEO, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
May 2017- present
Christine Tausig Ford
Interim Executive Director, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
October 2016-May 2017
Jean-Marc Mangin
Executive Director, Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
2009-October 2016
Jody CiufoÂ
Executive Director, Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social SciencesÂ
2006-2009Â
Paul Ledwell
Executive Director, Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
2001-2006Â
Louise Robert
Executive Director, Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
1998-2001
Marcel Lauzière
Founding Executive Director, Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada
1996-1998
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