The ''Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature'' was the premiere monthly literary journal of Anglophone Canada for three decades.

History and profile

Edited first by James Gordon Mowat then by John Alexander Cooper, the first issue was printed in 1893.biographi.ca: "Best, Thomas Henry"
/ref> Its president was James Colebrooke Patterson, concurrently federal Minister of Militia and Defence, while one of its vice-presidents was Thomas Ballantyne, then

Speaker of the Ontario legislature The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (french: Président de l'Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Notable elections 1920 Nelson Parliament w ...

. It was meant to compete with the American offerings of

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

and Harper's, and was similarly priced, but focused on "cultivating Canadian patriotism and Canadian interests." In 1897, the Magazine purchased '' Massey's Magazine'' thereby doubling its subscription. Advertisers were railway companies, banks, insurance companies, schools and colleges, brand-name dry goods and liquor producers. Eventually, its publisher would compete against the print cartel run by

Hugh Cameron MacLean Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

and

William Southam William Southam (August 23, 1843 – February 27, 1932) was a Canadian newspaper publisher. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he began his newspaper career working for the '' London Free Press''. The first newspaper he bought was the ''Hamilton Specta ...

. It reached a circulation of 30,000 subscribers in 1922. In 1925 the circulation of the magazine was 12,604 copies. The journal featured writers including

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

George Monro Grant George Monro Grant (December 22, 1835 – May 10, 1902) was a Canadian church minister, writer, and political activist. He served as principal of Queen's College, Kingston, Ontario, for 25 years, from 1877 until 1902. Early life, education Gr ...

Kate Eva Westlake Kate Eva Westlake (after marriage, Yeigh; pen name, Aunt Polly Wolly; 1856 – 4 March 1906) was a Canadian writer and an early editor. Life Westlake was born in Ingersoll, Canada West. The family moved to London, Ontario where her father succeed ...

and Goldwin Smith.

Samuel Simonski Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

reported from the front of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, while

John Joseph Mackenzie John Joseph Mackenzie (24 March 1865 – 1 August 1922) was a Canadian pathologist and bacteriologist. He was born at St. Thomas, Canada West, and was educated at Toronto, Leipzig, and Berlin universities, and later was appointed bacteriolog ...

wrote a layman's guide to

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

and

James Wilberforce Longley James Wilberforce Longley (4 January 1849 – 16 March 1922) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, and judge. Born in Paradise, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, the son of Israel Longley and Frances Manning, Longley received a Bache ...

wrote articles on

Nova Scotian A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

orchards. ''Canadian Magazine'' ended publication in 1938.

References

External links

Canadian Magazine at Canadiana Online, 1893-1921

Canadian Magazine at Hathitrust
{{italic title Defunct literary magazines published in Canada Magazines established in 1893 Magazines disestablished in 1938 Monthly magazines published in Canada