UWindsor’s Department of Communication, Media and Film (CMF) is set to host the Canadian Communication Association’s 2026 conference, June 2–4.
By Victor Romao
The Canadian Communication Association (CCA) has announced that its 2026 annual conference will be held at the University of Windsor from June 2 to 4, hosted by the Department of Communication, Media and Film (CMF).
This marks the first time the CCA will organize the event independently, reflecting a new chapter in its nearly 50-year tradition of fostering research, dialogue and collaboration among communication and media studies scholars across Canada.
The decision to bring the conference to Windsor highlights the city’s historical and academic significance in the field.
“Our department, founded as Communication Arts in 1969, was first in Ontario and second in Canada. It’s a campus with a rich legacy in communication studies, but one the CCA has not visited in decades” said CMF professor, Kyle Asquith.
Traditionally held on larger campuses in major cities such as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, the CCA’s annual conference has long been tied to the broader Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The move to Windsor marks a deliberate shift toward a more focused and locally engaged academic gathering.
CMF professor Kyle Asquith will help host the 2026 Canadian Communication Association conference.
“Windsor’s unique border location is important for studying communication too,” said Dr. Asquith.
“During the broadcast era, Windsor and Detroit were essentially one radio market. Canadian-licensed stations primarily had Detroit audiences and advertisers. At times, the CRTC carved out an exception for Windsor stations to lower Canadian content obligations.”
The conference will feature panels, networking events, and student engagement opportunities. Graduate students from across Canada will be invited to participate, and undergraduate students will showcase research posters from a fourth-year capstone course.
A call for papers is expected in early October, with a proposal deadline of Dec. 1. The final program will be assembled in early 2026.
“As media—businesses, platforms, technologies, policies, cultures and audiences—continually shift, so does the academic field of communication/media studies,” said Asquith.
“The CCA is the place where the most current research is shared and, as such, is the place where the field of communication/media studies is continually produced and reproduced.”
The University of Windsor also holds a notable place in Canadian media history.
Famed theorist Marshall McLuhan spent two years on the campus — then Assumption College — in the 1940s before moving on to the University of Toronto.
“It’s exciting that a campus with such history now gets to be part of the shaping of the field’s future,” said Asquith.