An informal group, the Circle started around a dinner table. In 1947, a time when interest in Canada’s north was increasing rapidly, Tom and Jackie Manning remarked to their friends and fellow arctic travellers Graham and Diana Rowley that their dining room table could no longer accommodate the growing number of people who gathered there regularly to talk about the north. The Arctic Circle came into being not long after and has been flourishing ever since, sustained by its members with no outside assistance.

The Circle meets monthly to hear interesting and informative presentations on everything arctic. Since its first meeting on December 8th 1947, over five hundred fascinating presentations have been given by experts on northern history, natural sciences, society, exploration, arts, transportation, astronomy, archaeology, medicine, and much more.

The Arctic Circle meets on the second Tuesday of every month from October through April at the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess, 4 Queen Elizabeth Driveway, Ottawa, at 8:00 pm. The bar opens at 7:30 pm.

In 2025, a new program will be initiated. In addition to our regular meetings two Zoom sessions are planned for the 2024-2025 Season. Open to our entire membership, these will be of particular interest to our out-of-town members.

Annual dinners are held in April and feature distinguished guest speakers. In 2024, the dinner was held on Thursday April 25^th, with guest speakers Jack Kobayashi and Antonio Zedda from Whitehorse, Yukon. Their topic was Architecture and Permafrost.