University Magazine

The University Magazine

The University Magazine (1907-20). A Montréal quarterly edited by Sir Andrew Macphail, it succeeded the semiannual McGill University Magazine (1901-06). Notable for paying its contributors, the magazine was financially guaranteed by Macphail himself. Under his rigorous editorial direction it set a standard of excellence in English-speaking Canada while attaining a circulation of nearly 6000, a level no comparable Canadian quarterly has subsequently matched.

Macphail himself contributed 43 pieces of political comment and social criticism (without payment) and for him the magazine was a vehicle to advance "correct thought," by which he meant a Canada that was rural, traditional and, aside from Québec, overwhelmingly British. When these ideals seemed to be in irreversible decline and when at the same time he faced financial pressures, failing eyesight and a drastic decline in circulation owing to his 4-year absence during World War I, Macphail finally discontinued the magazine. (See also Literary Magazines).