The series consists of records pertaining to the administration and governance of the Canadian Unity Council, and its predecessor organizations. For the original group, the Voices of Moderation, the series holds notes and agendas for its meetings in 1964 and 1965. These records document the group's views on the origins of the Quiet Revolution and the economic, cultural and political issues arising in Quebec in the early 1960s. The series contains background information on the reasons for the formation of the Canada Committee in 1966 and its arguments against Quebec separation. Drafts of the "Declaration by Canadians and Canadiens on Canada", completed in 1966, contain the Committee's recommendations; these are complemented by a bound copy of "The Canada Committee Declaration", with appended briefs to government commissions and committees. Correspondence reveals that the "Declaration" was sent to members of Parliament, federal and provincial ministries, universities, private companies and individuals. Governance and administrative records of the Committee also include its letters patent of incorporation, correspondence, by-laws, region and section constitutions, and organizational and administrative procedures. There are also newspaper clippings; editions of "Option Canada Bulletin" (its newsletter); corporate logo designs and promotional materials; information regarding the Committee's youth programs; and records of its Canada Week activities, including the Canada Week 1971 Souvenir Album.
In its post-1975 structure, the Council was governed and administered by a Board of Directors, Board of Governors, Executive Committee, and various standing and special committees. The chief officers of the corporation were the Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Chairman of the Board presided over all meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. The President and Chief Executive Officer exercised general supervision over the affairs of The Council. Governors were expected to be ambassadors of the Council in the provinces and territories from which they had been nominated. The bulk of the documentation in the series concerns meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, the Council's annual conferences and general meetings and recommendations of the Nominating Committee to the Council. Included are minutes, agendas, briefing books, notices of meetings, annual reports, financial statements, and membership lists. Records of the Audit Committee include notices and minutes of meetings, auditor's reports, an audit plan for 1999, variance analyses of significant financial statement accounts, and declarations of charitable organization status. Records of the Management Committee and the Exchange and Youth Programs Committee include records of meetings. Correspondence of chairmen of the Board of Directors, including T. R. Anthony Malcolm, Louis Desmarais, John H. Archer, Michel Vennat, and Rémi Bujold, and general correspondence relating to the Board of Directors, documents the Council's executive leadership and decision-making. The series also includes editions of "A Letter to the Governors from the President and C.E.O." and "Reports from the President and Chief Executive Officer".
The series also holds a wide variety of related information. Organization charts show general and program administrative structures and indicate the development of the administrative structure over time. Financial information is found throughout the series and includes budgets, statements of revenues and expenses, lists of accounts receivable, sales reports of promotional material, results of annual fund-raising activities and information regarding donations and federal and provincial grants, and corporate sponsorship. There is correspondence and other material related to the production of a souvenir video documenting the experiences of former chairmen and presidents at the Council. An album presented in 1994 to Jocelyn Beaudoin, President and Chief Executive Officer, acknowledges and documents his twenty-five years of service to the Council. Other files hold lists of Canadian unity groups and information regarding their activities; excerpts of special Senate Committee meetings on national unity; the Council's post-referendum action plan, devised after the second referendum; its national administrative policy, operational plans, and communications and marketing plans.