The Idea of a Canadian University

There are both temporal and socio-political dimensions to the idea of the university. Higher education in Canada has evolved to the point where there is a Canadian idea of what a university is and should be. This idea includes the notion of the university as a public, autonomous, secular, degree-granting institution. Given the nature of external pressures and the vulnerability of the university, it is important to discuss and debate those principles that tell us what the Canadian university should or could be.