National Federation of Canadian University Students - Early Years: 1926-1940

Early Years: 1926-1940

In the 1920s and 1930s, university in Canada] was the purview of the wealthy and upper middle class. University students were predominantly white males and were a minority amongst their cohort. In 1930, approximately 33,000 students attended Canadian universities full-time, which comprised 3% of college aged youth. Aside from regular university antics, University administrators during this time had traditionally succeeded in managing and socializing students.

Paul Axelrod, professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at York University, asserts NFCUS had been created amongst a common desire for pace and international harmony after the carnage and collective trauma experienced as a result of the First World War. Initially NFCUS resolved to “promote national unity” through campus cooperation and to facilitate the exchange of information on student concerns. Axelrod asserts that NFCUS became an apolitical service organization for students, even during a time in the 1930s when other student groups advocated peace and social change, “NFCUS avoided taking controversial positions on issues of the day.” This is consistent with Nigel Moses and Robert Fredrick Clift’s assessment of NFCUS in its early days. Canadian university administrators were warm to NFCUS and saw it as part of student learning and development on campus. Surveillance reports of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police mention NFCUS as a “reliable and approved institution.” Other groups, many inspired by the Social Gospel movement, were more active on social justice initiatives, such as the Student Christian Movement, the Canadian Youth Congress, and the Canadian Student Assembly (created in 1937). There were students involved in activism resembling a type of student movement at the time, but as Axelrod wrote, the campus culture of conformity and repressive nature of university administrators made it difficult for students to express independent political views. It wasn’t uncommon for editors of newspapers and student councilors to lose their positions after criticizing the university, government, or the dominant order.