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An informal group, the
Circle started around a dinner table. In 1947,
a time when interest in Canada’s north was
increasing rapidly, Tom and Jackie Manning
remarked to their friends and fellow arctic
travellers Graham and Diana Rowley that their
dining room table could no longer accommodate
the growing number of people who gathered
there regularly to talk about the north. The
Arctic Circle came into being not long after
and has been flourishing ever since, sustained
by its members with no outside assistance.
The Circle meets monthly to
hear interesting and informative presentations
on everything arctic. Since its first meeting
on December 8th 1947, over five hundred
fascinating presentations have been given by
experts on northern history, natural sciences,
society, exploration, arts, transportation,
astronomy, archaeology, medicine, and much
more.
The Arctic Circle meets
regularly,from October through April. For the
2026-2027 season, meetings will be held
in a variety of locations and on-line.
Generally, meetings will be held on the second
Tuesday of every month although with possible
exceptions.
Annual dinners are held in
April and feature distinguished guest
speakers.
In April 2026, our
guest-of-honour and after-dinner speaker was
P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Canada Research Chair
(Tier 1) in the Study of the Canadian North
and Professor in the School for the Study of
Canada at Trent University. Dr Lackenbauer
specializes in Arctic security, sovereignty
and governance issues, matters on which he has
published extensively.
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