Foundations of Public Relations: Canadian Edition is a collaboration between faculty and students in the Department of Communication Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. In 1977, Mount Saint Vincent became the first Canadian university to establish a professional degree in public relations. For more than 40 years, we have contributed to the advancement of the public relations field, and ensured that our learning environment has kept pace with a dynamic and complex global landscape.

We created this open textbook for public relations students who take PBRL 1010 Foundations of Public Relations. This course introduces them to public relations as a professional discipline. It includes a survey of the historical evolution of the field, foundational theories, an exploration of publics, and an introduction to the process of strategic planning.

In August 2021, we won a grant from Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL Canada) which helped us to involve public relations students in designing page layouts, infographics, instructional videos, interactive activities, and presentation slides. Those materials are available through the MSVU Teaching and Learning Centre at tlc@msvu.ca.

Thank you for your interest in Foundations of Public Relations: Canadian Edition!