Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Canadian Institute on Public Affairs
Parallel form(s) of name
- Couchiching Institute On Public Affairs
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Canadian Institute on Public Affairs was founded in 1932 by the YMCA National Council as an educational body for the critical discussion of national and international issues. It holds conferences every year at Lake Couchiching in Orillia. In 1979 its name changed to The Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs. The conferences, ordinarily held in August, quickly became a regular gathering place for those interested in the intelligent discussion of Canadian concerns. During the Great Depression the conference focus was on such issues as social reform, the state of the economy and the darkening world scene, and during WWII much attention was paid to reconstruction planning. In 1947 the possibility of a military alliance of North Atlantic nations (later NATO) was first raised in an address there by Escott Reid of the Department of External Affairs