Massey Lectures - Library Collection: About the Massey Lectures

Named in honour of Vincent Massey, the 18th Governor General of Canada, the Massey Lectures are an annual, five-part series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given by a noted writer, thinker, or scholar, usually a Canadian. The lectures were recorded for broadcast at the CBC Studios in Toronto from 1961 to 1989. Between 1989 and 2002, they were given live in public at the University of Toronto, with recording for future broadcast by the CBC. Since 2002, they have been given live in 5 different cities across Canada in the early fall. They are still recorded at each location, and are broadcast of the CBC radio program, Ideas. Each set of lectures is also published in print form by House of Anansi Press, who also has reprinted several of the earliest Massey Lectures in collected editions.

To learn more about the Massey Lectures, take a look at the following links:

The Massey Lectures are co-sponsored by CBC Radio, House of Anansi Press, and Massey College in the University of Toronto. Here is some information about each: