Radio Astronomy began as a science in the 1940s, when Canada was still less than 100 years old. Nevertheless, this embryonic field of science managed to take root in the country, carried first by a few individuals and later developing into participation in billion-dollar international endeavours.

This volume chronicles the rapid expansion of a young and important science in a young country. The authors—two practising astronomers and a historian of astronomy—offer different perspectives on this complex story, sharing their firsthand experience with the community and the roadblocks faced along the way. The pioneers taught the generations that followed, ushering in new waves of professionals and laypeople, taking their results to conferences, and arguing for more resources to cope with the volumes of incoming data.

This work is a tribute to Professor Richard Jarrell (1946-2013)—science historian, writer, educator, and author, who first paved the way for this research in the late 1980s. Carrying his legacy forward with his vision and scholarship as a guide, the authors have painstakingly prepared this volume, with one important change: instead of terminating the survey of developments in 1996, as Jarrell had planned, the chapters extend coverage to the present, demonstrating how in more recent years, Canadian radio astronomy has risen to the forefront of the field.

The story we tell here resonates with the growth and burgeoning of science and technology in Canada, with all its vital connections to education, technological development, scholarship and international profile.