SF Canada was founded as an authors collective circa 1989 under the title Canada’s National Association of Speculative Fiction Professionals. Several Canadian science fiction authors have made public claim to be “founding members” of the organization, notably Phyllis Gotlieb,[1][2] Candas Jane Dorsey,[3] Karl Schroeder[4] and Yves Meynard,[5] but documentation from this early period is sparse, apart from the self-report of the participants on their official websites.
SF Canada in its present form was Incorporated by Letters Patent with the Government of Canada on Sept. 21, 1992 with three signatories, Candas Jane Dorsey, Michael Skeet and Diane Walton, with the stated goals to: “foster a sense of community among Canadian writers of speculative fiction, improve communication between Canadian writers of speculative fiction through such means as the publication of a regular newsletter, foster the growth of quality writing in Canadian speculative fiction, carry out lobbying activities on behalf of Canadian writers of speculative fiction, encourage the translation of Canadian speculative fiction, and to promote positive social action.” (copied from the original document held on file by the Royal Bank of Canada.)[6]
The complete Bylaws of the corporation are publicly available in both Canadian languages on the official website of the Association.[7]
Presidents of SF Canada in order of succession have been: Candas Jane Dorsey, Karl Schroeder, Jean-Louis Trudel, Hugh Spencer, Mark Shainblum, Candas Jane Dorsey, Derryl Murphy, Colleen Anderson, Edward Willett, Steve Stanton.[8]
SF Canada awards $1000 annually in support of the Aurora Award and Aurora-Boréal Award, $500 each to the winners of the Best Novel in English and le Meilleur Roman en Français.[9][10]