Canadian Junior Chamber/Jaycees : The Canada Junior Chamber of Commerce, Canada Jaycees, is a national association of young people between the ages of 18 to 40 involved in individual, management and community development. It was founded in 1936 in Toronto following the annual meeting of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Other organizations known as Junior Chambers of Commerce existed prior to 1936 in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Toronto, Quebec City and two in Montreal (French and English). These were young men's sections of local Canadian Chambers of Commerce.
In 1936 the Jeune Chambre de Montréal was instrumental in forming La Fédération des Jeunes Chambres de la Province de Québec to unify the French speaking chambers in Quebec. At the annual meeting in Montreal in 1938, the constitution and basic mode of operations were drawn up. From the start it was agreed that the organization would be bilingual, and the constitution was printed in both French and English. Although La Fédération withdrew its association from the Canada Jaycees in 1963, both associations merged in 1981.
In addition to La Fédération, the Canada Jaycettes are also a part of the Canada Jaycees. The first meeting of the Canada Jaycettes was held at the National Jaycee Convention in 1954 at Regina, Saskatchewan. There were, however, several Jaycette units in Canada prior to 1954. Niagara Falls, Ontario formed the first Jaycette unit in Canada in 1943, and Edmonton and Calgary were also organized in 1943 and 1945 respectively. The Canada Jaycees and Jaycettes amalgamated under the name Canada Jaycees effective at the National Convention in 1983.
The Canada Jaycees were originally divided into provincial bodies. Each provincial body was divided into districts and the provinces as a whole comprised the national organization. With the exception of the Atlantic provinces, which operated as a single provincial body, each province was referred to as an individual area. In 1971 regionalisation of the Canada Jaycees was adopted and approved as follows: Pacific (British Columbia and Yukon); Northwest (Alberta and North West Territories); Prairie (Saskatchewan); Mid-Canada (Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario); Great Lakes (Southern Ontario); Central Ontario (Toronto area and Central Ontario); Chimo (Eastern Ontario and Quebec); and Atlantic (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland).
In 1965 the Canadian Junior Chamber of Commerce Building Foundation was incorporated under the name of the Canada Jaycee Foundation for the purpose of the acquiring of land and construction of a National Secretariat Building. In 1967 one-half acre of land was acquired outside Ottawa in Kanata. The name was then changed in 1976 to the present name to protect the use of the name "Canadian Junior Chamber of Commerce".
The Canada Jaycees are also part of a worldwide organization known as Junior Chamber International (JCI). The JCI was founded in 1944 in Mexico City, Mexico and has its headquarters at Miami Beach, Florida. All program activities of the JCI are categorized under International Commissions, a system of communicating ideas and implementing programs throughout a worldwide organization. In 1961 the Canada Jaycees adopted the commission system, and became involved with one such commission known as the International Relations Committee. The committee dealt with projects and programs designed to promote good will, understanding and cooperation among all peoples, and maintained liaison with the United Nations information centres and other agencies.
