Origins of Professional Psychology in Canada (1925-1965)
Reflections of a Pioneer
by Edward C. Webster

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Edward C. Webster was one of the earliest vocational guidance and industrial psychologists in Canada. He opened his practice in 1936 and was also a long-time professor of psychology and university administrator. During the last decade of his life, he began to document his perspective on early professional psychologists—almost all of whom he had known personally—and the nature of the profession, its origins and evolution in Canada, and the interplay between the emergence of psychology as a profession and the development of the Canadian Psychological Association. Sometime after Edward died in 1989, his son and the executor of his estate, William G. Webster, found his drafts, notes, and correspondence with others. As a retired academic psychologist himself, William felt that his father had a most interesting story to tell. Working with his son, David E. G. Webster, William compiled Edward’s recollections of and reflections on the early years of the profession, those pre- and immediately post-World War II, and those through to the mid-1960s, when a pivotal conference set the trajectory for professional psychology and professional psychologists in Canada. With new information not previously published by Edward Webster or others, Origins of Professional Psychology in Canada (1925–1965) brings forward the thought-provoking, authentic reflections of a man whose ground-breaking contributions to applied psychology forever changed the field.

originsofprofessionalpsychology.ca

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Until his retirement from McGill University in 1972, Dr. Edward Webster was a leader in industrial psychology in Canada. He was also a leader at McGill University, serving as chair of the psychology department during some critical years and as director of the Applied Psychology Centre at McGill. Edward maintained an active role in the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), in 1967 edited a historic report on the Couchiching Conference on professional psychology, and was the recipient of the 1982 CPA Distinguished Award for Contributions to Canadian Psychology as a Profession. His research on the dynamics of the employment interview has been internationally acclaimed and is still cited in textbooks in industrial/organizational psychology. Before he died, Edward lived in Mississauga, Ontario. William G. Webster, Edward’s son, was a professor (psychology, human communication sciences and disorders) at four Canadian universities, a dean of social sciences at Brock University, and a dean of health professions at Dalhousie University. He has published two books, one on stuttering management and one on psychology, contributed chapters to eight edited scientific books, and authored 35 articles in scientific journals. William lives in Halifax with his wife, Anne. David E. G. Webster, William’s son, holds a master’s degree in kinesiology and an MBA degree, and now works as an investment analyst for a major bank in Calgary, where he resides.

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Contributors

Author

Edward C. Webster

Editor

William G. Webster

Editor

David E.G. Webster

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