The History Association of Montreal began in the 1920s in order to bring together university and secondary school teachers, university students, and those of the general public interested in history. Its programmes alternated between Canadian and non-Canadian themes. Its membership and lecturers included many McGill University professors.

The Historica Foundation of Canada was formed in 1999, with a mandate of enhancing awareness of Canadian history and citizenship. In 2009, it merged with the Dominion Institute, and was known as The Historica-Dominion Institute until its official name change in 2013 to Historica Canada.

Isadore Benjamin Hirshberg (1890-1965) was born in Bay City, Michigan. He began his medical studies at McGill in 1909 and graduated in 1914. In 1913, he trained at the Alexandra Hospital for Infectious Diseases when John McCrae was on staff. In 1914, Hirshberg interned at the Montreal General Hospital. During the First World War he served at the Canadian Explosives plant at Beloeil Quebec and on his return to Montreal served on the staff of the Jewish Maternity Hospital, the forerunner of the Jewish General Hospital and was one of the latter hospital's founders.