CPSA 2026 conference set for in-person Ottawa meeting

CPSA says its 2026 annual conference will be held in person at the University of Ottawa, separate from the canceled Congress 2026.

The 2026 CPSA Annual Conference will be held in person at the University of Ottawa from Tuesday, June 2, to Thursday, June 4, with participants expected to attend and present on site.

The conference will not be held alongside the Congress of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. CPSA says that follows the Federation’s announcement that Congress 2026 will not proceed because of challenges securing a host institution.

For presenters, the notice sets out a firm in-person requirement: conference participants, paper-givers, poster presenters and three-minute thesis contestants must be prepared to attend events and make their presentations in person. Presentations may be made in either English or French.

Registration for the 2026 CPSA conference is scheduled to open in February 2026. Paper presenters, poster participants and three-minute thesis contestants must register by the early-bird deadline of March 31, 2026, or risk having their names removed from the programme by Friday, April 10, 2026.

The same March 31 deadline applies to CPSA membership requirements for paper authors, co-authors, poster presenters and three-minute thesis contestants, according to the conference information page. Chairs, discussants and roundtable participants who attend only in those roles are not required to become CPSA members, though those who do not join must register at the non-member rate.

Completed conference papers are due May 22, 2026. CPSA says papers should be single-spaced, no longer than 12,000 words and not previously published. Authors are instructed to send completed papers to the relevant section head and to the chair, discussant and participants in their session by that deadline.

The organization also says participants may be considered for panel chair or discussant roles, and it encourages attendees to offer those services to section heads. Travel grants are available to help members attend from distant locations, with applications due Feb. 15, 2026.

International attendees are directed to review Canada visitor information and contact the CPSA office for a letter of invitation. Each conference participant is responsible for making their own travel arrangements.