Canadian Union of Students
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Union of Students (CUS) was an association that linked student unions at Canadian
universities during the 1960s and 1970s. At one time a low-key organization for sharing expertise and jointly sponsoring services, it became increasingly political, suffering a major loss when the Quiet Revolution
in Québec led student groups in that province to leave CUS to form the Union Générale des Étudiants de Québec. Other convulsions followed, and CUS eventually disintegrated.
CUS's literature service, which published and distributed materials related to education and Canadian political economy, survived under the name Hogtown Press (later New Hogtown Press
), and continued to publish through the 1970s and 1980s.
Various successors have come and gone, and student groups are now represented at the national level by the Canadian Federation of Students
and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
. The extensive files of the CUS national office, including multiple carbon copies of every outgoing letter over a period of many years, are now in the archives of McMaster University
and form a major resource for research into Canadian higher education and social activism of its period.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
universities during the 1960s and 1970s. At one time a low-key organization for sharing expertise and jointly sponsoring services, it became increasingly political, suffering a major loss when the Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
in Québec led student groups in that province to leave CUS to form the Union Générale des Étudiants de Québec. Other convulsions followed, and CUS eventually disintegrated.
CUS's literature service, which published and distributed materials related to education and Canadian political economy, survived under the name Hogtown Press (later New Hogtown Press
New Hogtown Press
New Hogtown Press was a Canadian left-wing publisher active during the 1970s and 1980s.The press originated as the literature service of the Canadian Union of Students , producing and distributing pamphlets on education, Canadian political economy, and other issues during the late 1960s...
), and continued to publish through the 1970s and 1980s.
Various successors have come and gone, and student groups are now represented at the national level by the Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations was formed in 1995 by several post-secondary institutions' student unions who had withdrawn from the Canadian Federation of Students and previously unaffiliated student unions...
. The extensive files of the CUS national office, including multiple carbon copies of every outgoing letter over a period of many years, are now in the archives of McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
and form a major resource for research into Canadian higher education and social activism of its period.