Message to the Membership: Independent Conference

Message to the Membership: Independent Conference

The Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) has held our conference as part of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) Congress since 1966. The exceptions are 2018 when the CSA hosted the International Sociological Association World Congress and 2020 when the event was cancelled due to COVID. It is unclear if there were any other similar situations before 2000.

Recently, the FHSS Congress has dealt with several challenges; a racial profiling incident in 2019, pandemic concerns from 2020-2022, as well as unresolved labour disruption and student protest in 2024 which ultimately led CSA to withdraw our participation. Due to member dissatisfaction with the FHSS’s handling of these situations, it was suggested that the CSA Executive explore the possibility of holding the conference independent of Congress in 2026.

After carefully reviewing the possible benefits and risks associated with organizing an independent conference for 2026, the Executive Committee has determined that it is in the best interest of the CSA to continue to hold our annual in-person conference as part of the FHSS Congress.

The main factors leading to this decision include:

• Little to no reduction in delegate fees for our members due to the potential for additional costs incurred by the CSA for staffing and venue rentals.
• Issues such as labour disputes and political protests could occur at any venue (academic institution or commercial venue) and would be beyond the control of the CSA.
• Delegate dissatisfaction with the conference due to reduced or unavailable services that our association would not have the capacity to facilitate. This would include:
  • Accessibility services and resources
  • Affordable accommodation options
  • Childcare services
  • Expo/Book Fair
  • Food options and other on-site amenities
  • Media exposure
  • Networking and professional development opportunities between interdisciplinary scholars, publishers, and funding agencies

The CSA will continue to advocate for our members with respect to Congress fees and services provided for delegates. We are involved in FHSS initiatives to advise on Congress engagement strategies with scholarly associations and will be working to improve the terms of our event participation agreements to ensure the interests of our members are prioritized.

Thank you for your understanding and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.