The Canadian Forum was a left-wing literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine.

It was founded in 1920 at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 as a forum for political and cultural ideas. Throughout its publishing run it was Canadian nationalist

Canadian nationalism

Canadian nationalism is a term which has been applied to ideologies of several different types which highlight and promote specifically Canadian interests over those of other countries, notably the United States...

 and progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

 in outlook.

As a cultural and literary publication it published the artistic works of the Group of Seven

Group of Seven (artists)

The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...

 and Frank Carmichael

Frank Carmichael

Frank Carmichael was a trapper and a territorial level politician in Northwest Territories, Canada.-Early life:Carmichael moved to Aklavik, Northwest Territories in 1927 and began working as a trapper.-Political career:...

 as well as poetry and short stories by Irving Layton

Irving Layton

Irving Peter Layton, OC was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following but also made enemies. As T...

, Earle Birney

Earle Birney

Earle Alfred Birney, OC, FRSC was a distinguished Canadian poet and novelist, who twice won the Governor General's Award, Canada's top literary honor, for his poetry.-Life:...

, A.J.M. Smith, Harold Standish

Harold Standish

Harold Edwin Standish was a Canadian poet and novelist, best known for his 1949 novel The Golden Time and his long poem The Lake of Souls...

, Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...

 and Al Purdy

Al Purdy

Alfred Wellington Purdy, OC, O.Ont was one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. Purdy's writing career spanned more than fifty years. His works include over thirty books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence...

.

Politically, it was a forum for thinkers such as Frank Underhill

Frank Underhill

Frank Hawkins Underhill, was a Canadian historian, social critic and political thinker.Frank Underhill, born in Stouffville, Ontario, was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford where he was a member of the Fabian Society...

, F.R. Scott, Ramsay Cook, Mel Watkins

Mel Watkins

Mel Watkins is a Canadian political economist and activist. He is professor emeritus of economics and political science at the University of Toronto...

, Eugene Forsey

Eugene Forsey

Eugene Alfred Forsey, served in the Canadian Senate from 1970 to 1979. He was considered to be one of Canada's foremost constitutional experts.- Biography :...

 and Robert Fulford.

In 1934, publisher Steven Cartwright purchased the periodical from J.M. Dent & Sons. After owning it for about a year, Cartwright unloaded the money-losing venture for one-dollar to Graham Spry

Graham Spry

- Further reading :*Babe, Robert. "Graham Spry" in Canadian Communications Thought: Ten Foundational Writers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7949-0.*McChesney, Robert W. , Canadian Journal of Communication 24....

a member of the socially progressive think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 the League for Social Reconstruction

League for Social Reconstruction

The League for Social Reconstruction was a circle of Canadian socialist intellectuals officially formed in 1932, though it had its beginnings during a camping retreat in 1931. These academics were advocating radical social and economic reforms and political education. Industrialization,...

 (LSR).. It was printed using Spy's printing press company, Stafford Printers, which also printed the Ontario CCF's newspaper The New Commonwealth. Spry purchased the press with financial help from both the LSR and english socialist Sir Stafford Cripps, hence the name Stafford Press. in 1936, the LSR bought the Forum for one-dollar from Spry, and assumed all its debts. University of Toronto Classics professor George M. A. Grube, a member of the LSR, became the editor in 1937. During his tenure, the periodical was the LSR's official organ. Grube stepped down as editor in 1941, about a year before the LSR officially disbanded. It has also been operated at times as a co-operative and was owned for a number of years by James Lorimer and Co.

Editors have included Mark Farrell, G.M.A. Grube, J. Francis White, Northrop Frye

Northrop Frye

Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....

, Milton Wilson, Abraham Rotstein

Abraham Rotstein

Abraham Rotstein is a professor of economics at the University of Toronto. He is a fellow of Massey College. He is best known as a co-founder of the Committee for an Independent Canada. He received his doctorate from the University of Toronto in 1967 for the thesis Fur trade and empire : an...

, Denis Smith

Denis Mack Smith

Denis Mack Smith CBE is an English historian, specialising in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for studies of Garibaldi and Cavour and of Mussolini, and for his single-volume Modern Italy: A Political History...

, and the final editor, Duncan Cameron.

The magazine suspended publication following its summer 2000 issue.