FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, February 29, 2024—The Editors’ Association of Canada (Editors Canada) is pleased to announce it has partnered with Nelson Education to use the Nelson Gage Canadian Paperback Dictionary as a foundation for a new dictionary of Canadian English.
With this partnership, we are one step closer to the new Canadian English Dictionary (CED).
The time for the new Canadian English Dictionary is now
The last dictionary of Canadian English was published in 2004 and the major dictionary publishers have no plans to renew their outdated Canadian resources. Language has evolved in the last 20 years. The longer these tools are left out of date, the more profound the impact on editors, authors, books and the Canadian identity.
It is important that we have an English-language dictionary that keeps pace with the changes in language and that this dictionary is inclusive and addresses important issues, such as reconciliation, equity and diversity.
The CED project
In 2022, Editors Canada took the lead on creating a team and providing seed funding to develop the new Canadian English Dictionary. The resulting CED project team currently consists of volunteers and students from Editors Canada, the UBC Canadian English Lab, Queen’s University’s Strathy Language Unit and elsewhere.
The CED will incorporate as a not-for-profit organization that is separate from Editors Canada to provide better transparency in finance and governance. Editors Canada will maintain a close relationship with the project, including having representation on the CED’s board.
Next steps for the dictionary
Using the Nelson Gage Canadian Paperback Dictionary gives the CED a solid foundation to build on in the creation of the new dictionary. In the next few months, the CED will launch a test version of part of the dictionary online and seek additional funding sources to keep the project moving forward. This project is expected to take a few years.
After the launch of the online dictionary, the CED will work on a print edition to take its place on reference shelves across the country.
More info
To learn more about the current status of the CED project, read A New Canadian Dictionary by editor-in-chief John Chew in The Editors’ Weekly.
For further details, please visit the Canadian English Dictionary or email the CED team.
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About Editors Canada
Editors Canada began in 1979 as the Freelance Editors’ Association of Canada to promote and maintain high standards of editing. In 1994, the word “Freelance” was dropped to reflect the association’s expanding focus to serve both freelance and in-house editors. As Canada’s only national editorial association, it is the hub for 1,300 members and affiliates, both salaried and freelance, who work in the corporate, technical, government, academic, not-for-profit and publishing sectors. The association’s professional development programs and services include professional certification, an annual conference, seminars, webinars, and networking with other associations. Editors Canada has four regional branches: British Columbia; Toronto; Ottawa–Gatineau; and Quebec, as well as smaller branches (called twigs) in Atlantic Canada, Barrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton-Halton, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo-Guelph and Manitoba.
www.editors.ca
About Nelson Education
For over a century, Nelson has worked in partnership with Canadian educators to develop quality resources that are tied to curricula and that meet provincial learning expectations. As Canada’s largest educational content provider, Nelson dedicates its business efforts to the creation of quality, innovative solutions that empower learning success by supporting the needs of every student and educator. Visit www.nelson.com to learn more.
Media contacts
John Chew
Editor-in-chief
Canadian English Dictionary
416 876-7675
Michelle Ou
Senior Communications Manager
Editors Canada
communications@editors.ca