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120 years of national conversations
Founded in October 1903, the Canadian Club of Ottawa was one of the first Canadian Clubs established nationwide.
“Notable Club speakers have included Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Governor General Lord Grey, Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, British Ambassador James Bryce, U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root, and author Rudyard Kipling — to name a few.”
Timeline
- 1903
Founded in October
One of the first Canadian Clubs in the country. It grew to more than a thousand members in its first year. Founding members included Thomas Ahearn, Warren Soper, George Perley, George Burn, Thomas Birkett, Otto Klotz and Achille Frechette.
- 1903
Inaugural luncheon
Held at the Grand Union Hotel, now the British High Commission.
- 1904
Mackenzie King becomes president
Founding Vice President William Lyon Mackenzie King took on the Club’s presidency.
- 1905
All nine premiers
A special dinner hosted and attended by the premiers of all nine provinces.
- 1909
Honouring the first Parliament
A banquet for the surviving members of Canada’s first Parliament.
- 1912
A home at the Château Laurier
In September, the first Club meeting at the Fairmont Château Laurier, 1 Rideau Street. Sir George Reid spoke.
- 1976
A week to organize
A surprise address by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, organized in one week with the Ottawa Women’s Canadian Club.
- 2028
125 years
The Club’s 125th anniversary, the milestone its three-year modernization plan builds toward.
Facts from the Club’s “Looking Back: 120 Years” page. The build would add archival photos the Club supplies, and a 125th-anniversary hub for 2028.