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Members of the CIHS include former and current public service employees, academics, researchers, and members of the general public.
Membership is open to all.
The CIHS Bulletin
Published three to four times a year, the CIHS Bulletin is our main publication
containing articles and commentary of interest to our members.
Latest articles
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Remembering Cal Best
Born in Nova Scotia in 1926, James Calbert (Cal) Best was Canada’s first Black assistant deputy minister at the federal level. Mr. Best spent several years at Manpower and Immigration and its successor, Employment and Immigration. As assistant deputy minister from 1978 to 1985, he played a key role in the major initiative to resettle…
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This Canadian visitor visa is 40 years old, and so is the CIHS!
Susan Gregson confirms that it was she, as a young visa officer in Beijing, who issued this Canadian visitor visa (or “CVV” as we called them) back in the summer of 1986, just before being cross-posted to Rome. Coincidentally, the CIHS is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026! In February of 1986, the seventeen original…
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Canadian Immigration Statistics, 1966 to 2011
We have added a number of statistical documents to our site. Two publications – one simply titled “Immigration Statistics” and the other “Facts and Figures” were issued annually between 1966 and 2011. They offer insight into the changing demographic of immigrants to Canada, particularly following the adoption of the points system or significant world events…
About us
The Canadian Immigration Historical Society (CIHS) was formed in 1986, when seventeen people met and agreed upon the need for a non-partisan organization gathering historians, political scientists, sociologists, academics, government officials and private individuals to develop and promote interest in Canadian immigration and refugee matters and history.
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