About Scouting

Scouting celebrated its Centennial in 2007! Scouting began in 1907 when Lt. Gen. Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, affectionately referred to in the Scouting movement as "B.P.", took a group of youth to a camp on Brownsea Island. The Movement was incorporated as "The Boy Scout Association" throughout the Commonwealth by Royal Charter granted by King George V in 1912. Scouting came to Canada in the spring of 1908 - just months after the book, Scouting for Boys, was published in England. The Canadian General Council of the Boy Scout Association was incorporated by an act of the Canadian Parliament on June 12, 1914.

The Canadian General Council was a branch of the Boy Scout Association until October 30, 1946, when it became an independent member of the Boy Scout World Conference. A subsequent amendment changed the name to Boy Scouts of Canada. In 1976 the Scouts Canada logo was introduced and since then Scouting in Canada has become commonly referred to as Scouts Canada. B.P. wrote to Earl Grey in 1910 to ask him to organize Scouting in Canada. Since that time, every Governor General has been either the Chief Scout for Canada (prior to 1946) or Chief Scout of Canada (after 1946).

The current Governor General and Chief Scout is Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean. Today Scouts Canada is the country's leading youth organization, offering five challenging programs for boys, girls, young men and young women ages 5 to 26 in nearly 3,600 individual groups in most cities and towns across Canada. Over 84,000 young people enjoy Scouts Canada's programs, which are provided by 25,000 caring and dedicated volunteers.

Mission of Scouting

The Scouts Canada's MISSION applies to all of our levels:

"To contribute to the education of young people, through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society."