Secular Humanism in Canada had sporadic followers ever since the last century and possibly even before. However, it was not until the middle of the last century that organized Humanism began to emerge in this country. Dr. Ernest Poser was a member of the Rationalist Press Association ?RPA of Great Britain when he emigrated to Canada in 1941. He married a freethinker, Dr. Maria Jutta Cahn and in 1954 they moved to Montreal. That year, Dr. R. K. Mishra (a research physician at the University of Montreal) placed an advertisement in the Montreal Star inviting members of the RPA with an interest in starting a Humanist group, to get in touch with him. These three people began meeting regularly in each other's homes to discuss Humanist issues. In conjunction with a handful of other agnostics and atheists, they founded the Humanist Fellowship of Montreal. The new Fellowship had two official patrons. Lord Bertrand Russell and Dr. Brock Chisholm, a Canadian psychiatrist and first Director of the World Health Organization. The latter frequently addressed the Fellowship on public occasions. Membership rose rapidly, as soon as the group started to organize regular public meetings and an ethical education program for the children of freethinkers. By the early 70s, it counted 350 members.

One of the group's most visible members, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, joined in the early 60s. In 1967 Dr. Morgentaler presented a brief to the Federal Standing Committee on Health and Welfare on behalf of the Humanist Fellowship of Montreal, urging a repeal of the abortion law and freedom of choice on abortion.

In 1968, Dr. Morgentaler became the first president of the newly formed Humanist Association of Canada (HAC) It was made up of several existing groups in this country, of which the Montreal and Victoria ones were the largest. When women learned of Dr. Morgentaler's position on the abortion issue, they began to appeal to him to perform abortions. He eventually took the courageous stand of performing safe abortions.

In 1970, Dr. Morgentaler was charged with performing illegal abortions and eventually was imprisoned in 1975, despite being acquitted three times by juries. Since 1930, Canada had permitted a Court of Appeal to cancel a jury verdict and substitute its own. But this was the first (and also last) time this law was used where an Appeal Court would overrule a jury verdict of innocence. Canadians were outraged by this travesty of justice. This forced the federal government to introduced a new law preventing a jury's decision being overturned. This law is now known as the Morgentaler Amendment. Finally, in 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada used Dr. Morgentaler's appeal based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to strike down Canada's abortion law for infringing on a woman's right to life, liberty and security of the person. Today, there is no abortion law in Canada, although some provinces still put barriers in the way by denying financial aid or by refusing to licence abortion clinics.

Unfortunately, the Humanist Fellowship of Montreal did not survive for a variety of political and historical reasons. However, the Humanist Association of Canada remains strong after more than 30 years in existence and is the umbrella for Humanist groups in Ottawa, Toronto, Guelph area, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. They owe much to the inspiration and initiative of Dr. Rajen M.Mishra, now retired to India after a long and distinguished scientific career in North America and Europe. Dr. Mishra is still active as a scientist and supporter of Secular Humanism. He has requested Dr. Poser to record those early beginnings of Humanism for a book he proposes to publish in India.

In 1996, the Government of Ontario granted the HAC permission to perform legally recognized marriages. Plans are being made to offer Humanist weddings and funeral ceremonies throughout Canada. The first funeral service conducted by an HAC celebrant was held in March 1995, the first HAC wedding ceremony was held in August 1996, and in June 1998, HAC performed its first naming and undoctrination ceremony.

We acknowledge the right of others to believe as they wish, but we do speak out against religious excesses. We represent the secular, as opposed to the religious view. We took a stand on the abortion issue, made representations to the Royal Commission on Reproductive Rights, the CRTC hearings on Religious Broadcasting, and the Senate Committee on Euthanasia. Although unsuccessful, many of our members signed a petition to have the reference to God removed from the preamble of the Canadian Constitution. This petition was read out in Parliament by MP Svend Robinson on June 8, 1999.