This book is a monumental undertaking on the subject of CANADA ... the country, its history, people, art, music, literature, politics, industries, and many other topics. The Encyclopedia was first published in 1985 by Albertan Mel Hurtig after seven years of work. Hurtig published a second edition in 1988, but his company was sold in 1991 to McClelland and Stewart, Inc., who stated in the 2000 edition that they only bought the company so they could acquire the Canadian Encyclopedia. They retained the original Editor James Marsh to update the massive collection of information. Approximately 3,000 contributors wrote 8,000 articles for the book.

The list of BC artists is interesting in a number of ways. 13 of the 100 listings are for architects, at least 10 are indigenous, only 16 are female. There are no listings for a number of important BC artists, including Charles Hepburn Scott, William Percival Weston, Spencer Perceval Judge, John Kyle, Beatrice Lennie, Charles Marega, Bessie Fry Symons, Fred Amess, B.C. Binning, G.L.T. Sharp, Paul Rand, Statira Frame, Irene Hoffer Reid, and others.