Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue canadienne des slavistes was founded in 1956 at the University of Toronto as an occasional publication of the Canadian Association of Slavists, which was formed in 1946 and became an independent learned society in 1954.

In the same year as CSP/RCS was founded, a French-language sister journal, Etudes slaves et est-européennes, edited by Professor Théodore Domaradzki of the Université de Montréal, began appearing. ESEE was published as a quarterly for the Eastern Canada Centre of Slavists and East European Specialists. In 1968, ESEE merged with Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue canadienne des slavistes.

In 1967 the journal began appearing twice yearly; it became a quarterly in 1968. Today it remains the official organ of the Canadian Association of Slavists.

As the official journal of a learned society, Canadian Slavonic Papers‘ chief affiliation is to the society and not to a particular editor or university. The Editor, appointed by the Association, is always a senior scholar.

The journal has been hosted by Carleton University, the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, and, most recently, McGill University.  At present the Editor is a Canadian scholar based in the UK, while operations such as book review coordination remain at McGill under the supervision of an associate editor.

As of 1 January 2015, the journal has been published under license by Taylor & Francis. The journal remains the property of the CAS, which retains full editorial control and copyright.

Since the founding of the journal, the following individuals have served as Editors:

• George S. N. Luckyj, 1956-1961 (vols. 1-5)
• Adam Bromke, 1964-1966 (vols. 6-8)
• Philip E. Uren, 1967-1970 (vols. 9-12)
• John W. Strong, 1970-1975 (vols. 12-17)
• R. C. Elwood, 1975-1980 (vols. 17-22)
• R. D. B. Thomson, 1980-1986 (vols. 22-28)
• E. W. Dowler, 1986-1990 (vols. 28-32)
• Edward Mozejko, 1991-2000 (vols. 33-43)
• Oleh S. Ilnytzkyj, 2001-2010 (vols. 44-52)
• Heather J. Coleman, 2011-2020 (vols. 53-62)
• James Krapfl, 2021-2023 (vols. 63-65)
• Rolf Hellebust, 2024-present (vols. 66-  )

For further information, please see:

• James Krapfl, “Celebrating 65 Volumes of CSP/RCS: Remarks on Our Past Success and Future Prospects,” Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue canadienne des slavistes 65, nos. 3-4 (2023): 269-78.
• John W. Strong, “Canadian Slavonic Papers: A Brief History,” Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue canadienne des slavistes, index of vols. I-XV (1956-1973): 1-4.