Champlain Society

The Champlain Society was founded 1905 in Toronto by Sir Edmund Walker to increase public awareness of, and accessibility to, Canada's rich store of historical records. Membership, limited at first to 250, is now approximately 800. The Council of the Society includes some of the country's finest scholars and community leaders, who offer guidance and advice to the Society.

Many early volumes related to New France, including a 6-volume edition of Champlain's works in French and in English translation. The Society soon became interested in the fur trade and early explorations. It published the first dozen volumes prepared by the HUDSON'S BAY RECORD SOCIETY. In recent years, volumes have been devoted to a broader range of interest, some of a political nature. At the Ontario government's request and expense the Society sponsors the Ontario Series, devoted to the province's history. The Society has published close to 170. In 2000 the Society began to transfer its volumes online so that these valuable documents would be easily available to the general public. This format of the volumes is known as the Champlain Society Digital Collection. The online volumes are searchable by keyword, bibliographic entry, title, and author. While the Society continues to work toward putting its entire collection online, and thus creating a tremendous educational resource, it is also working on other initiatives including an online journal.

Author W. KAYE LAMB

Links to Other Sites
Allan Gregg: David Hackett Fischer on Samuel de Champlain
View Allan Gregg's interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian David Hackett about his new book, "Champlain's Dream", which is devoted to explorer Samuel de Champlain. From TVO.

Historica-Dominion Institute
The website for the Historica-Dominion Institute, parent organization of The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Check out their extensive online feature about the War of 1812, the "Heritage Minutes" video collection, and many other interactive resources concerning Canadian history, culture, and heritage.

The Surrender of Québec
A selection of digitized documents relating to the French capitulation of Québec in 1629. From “New France, New Horizons.”

Champlain Society
Search The Champlain Society digital collection for full text documents about Canadian history. Features first-hand accounts of Samuel de Champlain's voyages in New France and much more.