About Us

The Canadian Town and Gown Association (CTGA) is the trusted, coordinated voice for post-secondary students, post-secondary institutions, municipalities, first responders, residents, and property managers in Canadian communities that host post-secondary institutions. We share information, facilitate connections, and mediate relationships among our diverse group of stakeholders to promote vibrant cohesive communities for everyone.

"Town & Gown" is a term which conveys the relationships between post-secondary institutions - universities and colleges - and the communities that host them. The Town and Gown Association of Ontario (TGAO) evolved out of Town and Gown symposia held in Waterloo, Hamilton and Guelph, Ontario during 2004 and 2005. The continued growth of post-secondary institutions and the subsequent effects on near campus neighbourhoods was the catalyst for these symposia.

At that time, attendees recognized that there were many issues of common interest in town and gown municipalities across the Province that could best be served by partnering efforts and sharing information. Upon direction from the participants at the Hamilton and Guelph symposia, a volunteer working group of interested stakeholders was formed to create the association. The Association became incorporated in February, 2006, and held its first Annual General Meeting on May 12 at the 2006 symposium in Brantford, Ontario. 

In 2025, the Town and Gown Association of Ontario (TGAO) decided to rebrand as the Canadian Town and Gown Association (CTGA) to reflect our growing membership base, and expand our presence from sea to sea to sea.

Board of Directors

The Canadian Town and Gown Association is governed by representatives from many of our member organizations. The current members of the Board include:

• Ian Murray, President | Executive Advisor, Acadia University (Wolfville, NS)

• Tanja Curic, Secretary | Senior Policy Planner, City of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON)

• Alexander Wray, Treasurer & Past President | President, Exposcape Limited (Waterloo, ON)

• June Baldwin, Board Member | Off-Campus Living Advisor, University of Guelph (Guelph, ON)

• Kristen Smith, Board Member | Manager of Student and Community Outreach, Brock University (Niagara Region, ON)

• Clare Riepma, Board Member | Councillor of Ward 1 in the City of Barrie (Barrie, ON)

The Canadian Town and Gown Association is legally operated as the Town and Gown Association of Ontario. Should you see TGAO or tgao.ca in some of our internal systems, that is to be expected as we continue to grow our presence across Canada as a 100% volunteer-ran organization.