Fonds

The Women's
Canadian Club of Montreal was founded in 1907 by Lady Grace Julia Parker Drummond and Elsie Reford. It was the Montreal chapter of what was originally the women's
equivalent of the Canadian Clubs that were established across the country for
men beginning in the 1890s. The purpose of these clubs was to underscore a
distinctive Canadian culture separate from that of the "Old Country."

Although
the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal declares itself "non-sectarian,
non-partisan, non-political," its goal has largely been the
"fostering of patriotism," and its activities are devoted to
promoting Canadian culture, history and nationalism. Primarily a social
organization that arranges for speakers and tours, the club has, from time to
time, involved itself in a variety of philanthropic endeavours, especially
during the two World Wars.

Membership
has largely been drawn from Montreal's English-speaking population over the
years, reaching numbers in the 2000s in the 1950s. While there has been a close
relationship with the head office of the Association of Canadian Clubs over the
years, the Women's Canadian Club of Montreal has not hesitated to make
decisions that are more fitting for its membership and the particular situation
of Quebec.

The Club is
run by an Executive Committee, elected for a term of one year, along with an
Advisory Council composed of past presidents. The Executive and Advisory
committees meet regularly, and a number of the documents in the collection were
produced through their activities. The club's season runs from the fall of one
year into the spring of the next, culminating with an annual meeting that
consists of a luncheon with a guest speaker. Several other luncheons with
speakers are held during the year and have included both Canadian and
international luminaries such as Earl Grey, Wilfrid Laurier, Stephen Leacock,
Vincent Massey, John Diefenbaker, Pierre Berton and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Local celebrities who have spoken to the club include Prof. Joe Schwarcz, Ann
Medina and Terry Mosher (aka Aislin).

More
recently, club members have taken tours of local venues such as the SAQ cellars
and local museums, and a number of trips have been organized to cultural and
historical sites in southern Quebec and Ontario, such as Stratford and the
Eastern Townships, and bordering states such as Vermont. A good many of the
photographs in the collection are from these trips and tours.

While the
club is primarily a social one, it has also participated in community outreach,
organizing donations and the building of the cenotaph in Dominion Square,
donating funds for a vehicle for the Red Cross during World War II, and running
several citizenship, immigration and scholarship programs.

Despite
generally espousing apolitical leanings, the club has often engaged in
letter-writing campaigns on significant political issues such as women's suffrage,
peace during wartime, the living conditions and medical treatment of soldiers,
conscription, and a number of the Quebec referendums.

Although
these records have been donated to the McCord Museum, the club continues to be
an active and functioning organization at the time of this writing.