Our Mission
The International Churchill Society Canada (ICS Canada) is affiliated with International Churchill Society (formerly the Churchill Centre) to foster leadership, statesmanship, vision, courage and boldness among democratic and freedom-loving peoples worldwide through the thoughts, words, works and deeds of Winston Spencer Churchill.
Each year, ICS Canada, organizes events that honour his legacy.
Committed to maintaining
the legacy of
Winston
Churchill
In our world in 2023 we see conflict and anger; but hopefully sanity will return. Back in 1940 the world was in dire straits with a megalomaniac intent on bringing death and destruction. At that time one person towered above the rest in standing up to the evil forces. Winston Churchill’s decisive actions gave hope to the oppressed masses and his stance enabled the evil powers to be stalled until overwhelming allied forces prevailed. Although we do not have Winston Churchill to be a beacon of hope, we do have his inspiration in his thoughts, words, work and deeds.
The International Churchill Society Canada is committed to maintaining the legacy of Winston Churchill with entertaining and informative journals and stimulating events.
Even with the passage of time Winston Churchill continues to be an inspiration for freedom loving people around the world. Evidenced by the International Churchill Society extending their 2022 “Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award” to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was presented to the courageous Ukrainian President by British P.M. Boris Johnson. This is who we are!
CHURCHILL STATUE IN TORONTO
In 1977 due to the generosity of the late Henry R. Jackman a statue of Churchill was erected in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto and was unveiled by Churchill's grandson, Winston Spencer Churchill, MP. ICS Canada together with the Toronto based Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy commenced a fund raising drive to refurbish the area around the statue which had fallen into neglect. $30,000 was raised from donors in six Provinces and the area was improved with eight park benches, trees and four plaques covering Churchill's life and achievements and formally rededicated by Mayor David Miller on June 6th 2004 the 60 anniversary of D-Day.
The History of “Finest Hour” Magazine and “ICS Canada News & Views”
Some thirty years ago a small group of Canadians, interested in the life and times of Winston Churchill, met to discuss forming an organization of like-minded individuals. This resulted in the International Churchill Society Canada. A relationship was established with an existing organization in the United States, under the leadership of Richard Langworth, (a future recipient of the C.B.E. from Queen Elizabeth).
In 1968, ICS US commenced the publication of a quarterly magazine, 'Finest Hour'. The name was derived from one of Churchill's most famous speeches. Shortly after becoming PM on May 10th, 1940, on June 18th, he delivered to the House of Commons (UK)"This was their finest hour". While the “Finest Hour” continued to be published in the United States, Canadian members became major contributors, with one of its long standing directors being awarded the prestigious “Journal Award” in 2006.
Churchill held a special fondness towards Canada. At various times during his 9 visits, he had travelled from coast to coast, lecturing in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal. His most famous visits were to Quebec City for the 1st and 2nd Quebec Conferences, in 1943 and 1944, respectively. In 2006, ICS Canada commenced publishing a quarterly newsletter News & Views, consisting of news items and articles promoting the “Churchillian - Canadian Connection”. Multiple articles relating to Churchill's historic visits can be found in our archive of newsletters.
- Annual Student Bursaries -
Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute
The International Churchill Society Canada is committed to educating young people on the life and achievements of Winston Churchill.
Since 2015, ICS Canada has awarded $500 bursaries to three deserving high school graduates from Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute (WCCI), located in Scarborough, Ontario.
The bursary requirements are based on academic achievement, leadership, and community service with an emphasis on the characteristics and qualities exemplified by Winston Churchill. The bursaries are presented by an ICS Canada director each year at convocation.
The recipients are named in the Society's newsletter, News & Views. At the annual ICS dinner, it is our honour to include staff and student representatives to meet our Directors and Supporters.
Annual Dinners
Toast to Sir Winston Churchill, presented by Clayton J. Conlan 2023
On Monday, the 7th day of March, in the year 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an address to the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, made it clear that his country would not surrender to Russian aggression. His words echoed those of a leader who, at that time, had been gone for 57 years. "We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight until the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost", President Zelensky stated. That leader whose words were borrowed by President Zelensky has a most prestigious leadership award in his name, an award that continues to this day to be bestowed upon deserving honourees. Books dedicated to his life and times. Educational institutions in his name. Organizations, like this one, determined to maintain his legacy. Special projects in his honour, projects that are active, in fact bustling, today, such as the Churchill Project for the Study of Statesmanship at Hillsdale College in Michigan, United States of America. Online websites in almost every endeavour of human life that employ this man of the past’s name, his accomplishments, and his words as the foundation for advice to their followers, for example business and commerce websites designed to inspire Chief Executive Officers. This great leader of the past, THE Great Man, who is evidently just as relevant today as he was when, in June of 1940, he spoke of the fight on the beaches, is of course the person to whom this evening is dedicated, The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. Those who question Sir Winston's importance in 2023 are those who, quite frankly, do not know enough about Churchill and/or do not know enough about the world today. It is that simple. On May 6, 1959, at a dinner in honour of Churchill, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ended his remarks with these words, "observing the requirements of protocol, I am not allowed, on this occasion, to propose his name for a toast. But I know that Her Majesty the Queen would be proud to know that each of us, in drinking a Toast to the Queen, is thinking of one of her most brilliant, loyal, and greatest subjects: Sir Winston Churchill". This evening, no such protocol interferes with me using the name of The Great Man. So please join me in this toast and raise your glass - ladies and gentlemen, to our inspiration, Sir Winston Churchill.
Toast to Sir Winston Churchill, presented by Cliff Goldfarb 2022
In proposing a toast to a great man, especially one who has been so written and spoken about, it is almost impossible to find words of appreciation that have not already been used, not once, but many times. Among those who are here to celebrate this occasion, no words of praise are needed – we already know who he was and what he accomplished. So, instead, today I choose to toast Winston the historian.
Randolph Churchill's Address to ICS Canada in 2016
That freedom has not been won without sacrifice. In two world wars Canada was a lynch pin. As a Dominion in the Great War she was bound to Britain, but the incredible loyalty of the Canadian people in those and later years is still unsurpassed in all history. Sadly, we are now losing the heroes of the Second World War. Just two years ago the Churchill family lost its matriarch, Lady Soames, Churchill’s daughter, your Society’s Patron, who herself commanded an anti-aircraft battery in the Second World War.
ICS Canada holds an annual dinner in Toronto on or about May 10th to commemorate the date in 1940 when Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain and the wartime leader of the British, Canadian and Commonwealth forces.
Events also include "Evenings with Sir Winston" with films, talks and silent book and memorabilia auctions all held in an atmosphere of conviviality and good humour.
Memory
is part of what
makes us human
The World Remembers (1914-1918)
Since its inception in 2014, the International Churchill Society Canada, has been a proud sponsor of The World Remembers, a Canadian initiative and the brainchild of Robert Thomson. Founded as an act of reconciliation rather than an expression of national pride. It is the only remembrance of its kind in the world.
Created as a multinational commemoration of the men and women who sacrificed their lives during the Great War, regardless of their nationality. 23 nations have submitted more than 4,000,000 names to the project.
Over 68,000 Canadians are included – commemorating those who lost their lives while serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army Medical Corps, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and as merchant marines.
During the centenary anniversary of WWI, these names were projected in schools, on public buildings, at universities, churches and libraries across Canada. Internationally, The World Remembers display appeared at Canadian Embassies in many participating nations as well as museums in Germany, Belgium, and the United States.
The World Remembers recently installed an interactive kiosk at the Canadian War Museum, in Ottawa, Ontario. This kiosk allows visitors to search the registry for their relatives, explore an extensive WWI photo gallery and learn the war history of participating nations. Efforts are ongoing to install kiosks in other locations across Canada and world wide.
To learn more, please visit: www.theworldremembers.org.