The Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (AIAA) was founded in 1910, with members from the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. The association was reformulated to the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association (AUAA) in 1968 and has 10 members. The AUAA was one of the original members of the now CIAU national organization.
The Western Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAA) was founded in 1920 and included members from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In 1971, the WIAA subdivided into the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) with 6 members and the Great Plains Athletic Association (GPAC) with 3 members primarily from the province of Manitoba, the University of Regina from the province of Saskatchewan and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead University canceled its membership in GPAC in 1988 and became a member of the OUAA/OWIAA.
The first formal organization of intercollegiate athletics in Canada took place in 1906 with the formation of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union. This organization had four active members: Ottawa College, Trinity College, McMaster College and the Royal Military College. As the years passed, the CIAU expanded until in 1954 the union had nineteen members.
In 1954, the administration of the CIAU was becoming somewhat unwieldy. There was a great variation in the standards of play between institutions, a different philosophy towards athletics between many members and difficulties in agreeing upon common standards of eligibility. It was also felt that the name Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union was not truly appropriate since intercollegiate athletic associations were also in existence in other parts of the country. In 1955, it was agreed by the member institutions that the CIAU (Central Division as it was then called) would reorganize in two sections to be known as the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association (with nine members) and the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Intercollegiate Association (with ten members).
The original members of the O-QAA had been joined by the Assumption College (University of Windsor) and were joined in 1961 by Waterloo and 1968 by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. In 1968, the O-QAA was divided into Eastern and Western Divisions in order to facilitate the scheduling of events.
In 1971, the Quebec-based universities in the O-QAA withdrew from the Association. Laval, McGill and Montreal elected to pursue their future athletic endeavours in the newly formed Quebec Universities Athletic Association.
In the resulting reorganization meetings, the remaining members of the O-QAA, (Carleton University, University of Guelph, McMaster University, University of Ottawa, Queen's University, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario and University of Windsor) voted to change their name to the OUAA (Ontario Universities Athletic Association).
July 1, 1997 the OUAA and the OWIAA amalgamated to form one association, Ontario University Athletics. In November, 1997 the OUA hired the organization's first Executive Director. The "new" OUA office opened on September 1, 1998 at its current location in Hamilton.
Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF)
or
Fédération Québecoise du Sport Étudiant is composed of universities in the Province of Quebec:
- Bishop's University, Lennoxville, QC
- Concordia University, Montreal, QC
- Université Laval, Ste-Foy, QC
- McGill University, Montreal, QC
- Montréal University , Montreal, QC
- Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke, QC
- University of Québec in Montréal, Montreal, QC
- University of Québec in Trois-Rivières, Trois Rivières, QC