A history of the Statistical Society of Canada: the formative years (with discussion)

Abstract

The year 1997 marked the twenty­fifth anniversary of the foundation of the first Canadian statistical association and the silver jubilee of The Canadian Journal of Statistics (CJS). This paper relates the events and circumstances that led to the creation of these institutions. It also describes how frictions between individuals, as well as diverging regional and professional interests, soon led to the rise of a second, rival association that eventually merged with the first in 1977–78 to form what is now known as the Statistical Society of Canada (SSC). This historical account is based on abundant archival material and on interviews conducted by the authors in preparation for a commemorative presentation they made at the Annual Meeting of the SSC, June 2, 1997, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.