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 James Colebrooke Patterson, PC (1839 – February 17, 1929) was a Canadian politician. He served as a federal cabinet minister from 1892 to 1895 and as the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1895 to 1900. Early life Patterson was ...

, concurrently federal Minister of Militia and Defence, while one of its vice-presidents was Thomas Ballantyne, then

Speaker of the Ontario legislature Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. 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 that has published several notable American authors, including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjo ...

and

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

, 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 and William Southam. 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 Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

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 and

Goldwin Smith Goldwin Smith (13 August 1823 – 7 June 1910) was a British-born academic and historian who was active in both Great Britain and North America. From 1856 to 1866, he was a professor of modern history at the University of Oxford. Smith taught a ...

Samuel Simonski Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated a ...

reported from the front of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, while John Joseph Mackenzie wrote a layman's guide to

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and James Wilberforce Longley wrote articles on

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

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