Several factors in the last half-century have led to a rapid expansion of Iranian studies in Canada. Part of this development has its roots in the post World War II expansion in Canada's economic and political influence on the international scene, and the concomitant migration of European, and specifically British, scholars to a number of expanding Canadian universities.



Iranian Studies grew as a sub-discipline of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies with the establishment of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in 1951, and the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto in 1961.
In the 1960s and 1970s, under the strong leadership of Professor George Michael Wickens, the University of Toronto emerged as an important center for Iranian studies and Persian literature. Supported by various federal government initiatives to strengthen Middle Eastern studies, Wickens was able to carry out an ambitious acquisitions program for the University of Toronto library, creating as a result one of the finest libraries on Middle East and Persian studies in North America. Toronto was further bolstered as a center of Iranian studies with the creation of the West Asian Studies section (now known as the Near Eastern and Asian Civilizations Department) at the Royal Ontario Museum, which houses a rich collection of miniatures, manuscripts, ceramics, textiles, and other cultural artifacts from Persia and Central Asia.

In 1969, the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University set up an official branch at the University of Tehran, and created facilities for students and research scholars; it was because of this that one of the more prominent publishing series on Islamic philosophy and mysticism came into existence: the Wisdom of Persia Series. It should also be noted that pre-Islamic studies of Iran have been a focus of research in a number of Classics and History departments at various Canadian universities.

Recent decades, however, have witnessed a radical transformation in Iranian studies in Canada. The 1979 Revolution in Persia and the ensuing arrival of Iranian academics, journalists, novelists, poets, and other intellectuals into Canadian academic and artistic society has generated a greater interest in Iran and the Persian-speaking world among Canadians. This, combined with a growing number of second-generation Irano-Canadians interested in studying aspects of Iranian civilization at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, has contributed significantly to the growth of different aspects of Iranian studies across Canada from Victoria to Halifax. This expansion has been further enriched by the participation of a number of talented Iranian literati, artists, and musicians in contemporary Canadian society.

Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies

Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto:

Concordia University's  program in Iranian Studies:

Institute of Islamic Studies, MacGill University

Centre for Iranian Studies- Toronto