The McGill Debating Union was founded in 1927 as an amalgamation of the McGill Literary and Debating Society and the McGill Canadian Club. The McGill Literary Society was founded in 1873, becoming the McGill Literary and Debate society in 1880, marking the beginning of organized debating at McGill University.
The formal creation of the McGill Debating Union was largely authored by John Peters Humphrey, who later went on to write the first draft of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as serving as the first director of the Human Rights division in the U.N. Secretariat. He served as the first President of the McGill Debating Union.
The McGill Debating Union has been an integral and contributing member of the university community ever since its founding. The Union was a founding member of both the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debating (CUSID).
In 1977, McGill hosted the second edition of the Trans-Atlantic University Speech Association (TAUSA) tournament, the precursor to the World Debating Championships. In 1985, McGill hosted the 5th annual edition of Worlds, a privilege which has been awarded to only two other Canadian universities. In 1991, McGill was victorious at the World Debating Championships hosted in Toronto. That same year, the Union founded the North American Debating Championships, which it hosted again in 1998 and 2002.
These days, the McGill Debating Union is continuing to build its legacy as a cornerstone of intercollegiate debate. The Union hosts two tournaments every year. In November, high school students from across the country travel to our High School Debating Tournament, where many future university debating successes have made a name for themselves. And of course, every January from 1953 to 2023, we hosted the Winter Carnival tournament. Beginning in 2024, the MDU proudly hosts McGill Inter-Varsity, one of Canada’s most competitive annual British Parliamentary tournaments.
But beyond that, the MDU is a significant part of McGill and the community surrounding it. In 2010, McGill debaters presented a debate at the Montreal World Health Organization conference on global pandemic preparedness, as well as a panel discussion on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. The following year, the Debating Union hosted a debate between Liberal and Conservative McGill about the reelection of the Conservative Canadian government. More recently, the MDU hosted distinguished professors for a talk on the future of US-Canada relations.
The MDU’s continued success on the circuit and in the community is more than just chance – it’s the result of opportunities that our members have made the most of. Those opportunities are the direct result of the support and contributions of the community.