St. Lawrence University: Sesquicentennial

Good Conferences Make Good Neighbors
St. Lawrence/Queen’s conferences in the 1930s helped establish U.S. relations with Canada, with its new measure of independence.

In 1935, a mere 70 years ago, Canada had been fully autonomous for only four years. During that interval, St. Lawrence University, in conjunction with Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., developed a Biennial Conference on Canadian-American Affairs.
The conferences were held at St. Lawrence in 1935 and 1939, and at Queen’s in 1937 and 1941. An average of 150 people attended, including educators; publicists; leaders in business, industry and labor; public officers and legislators; and 10 students from each institution. Topics ranged from monetary issues, foreign policy and trade as the two nations contended with the Great Depression, to defense and security as World War II neared.

The discussions were never intended to be publicized, but because interest on both sides of the border was high, transcripts from each conference were made public and used as a basic source of information on relations between the two countries. Still considered among the most penetrating analyses of U.S./Canadian relations, the documents were widely used in both educational and diplomatic circles. President Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King were briefed on the discussions and on the conclusions that were reached in those discussions.

The conferences dramatically improved the relationship between the two countries, helping pave the way for the Atlantic Pact, which solidified U.S.-Canadian relations in World War II, and for the Lend-Lease program of European reconstruction after the war. --Megan Bernier ’07

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Return to Sesquicentennial	Good Conferences Make Good Neighbors St. Lawrence/Queen’s conferences in the 1930s helped establish U.S. relations with Canada, with its new measure of independence. In 1935, a mere 70 years ago, Canada had been fully autonomous for only four years. During that interval, St. Lawrence University, in conjunction with Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., developed a Biennial Conference on Canadian-American Affairs. The conferences were held at St. Lawrence in 1935 and 1939, and at Queen’s in 1937 and 1941. An average of 150 people attended, including educators; publicists; leaders in business, industry and labor; public officers and legislators; and 10 students from each institution. Topics ranged from monetary issues, foreign policy and trade as the two nations contended with the Great Depression, to defense and security as World War II neared. The discussions were never intended to be publicized, but because interest on both sides of the border was high, transcripts from each conference were made public and used as a basic source of information on relations between the two countries. Still considered among the most penetrating analyses of U.S./Canadian relations, the documents were widely used in both educational and diplomatic circles. President Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King were briefed on the discussions and on the conclusions that were reached in those discussions. The conferences dramatically improved the relationship between the two countries, helping pave the way for the Atlantic Pact, which solidified U.S.-Canadian relations in World War II, and for the Lend-Lease program of European reconstruction after the war. --Megan Bernier ’07
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