The Alberta Camping Association (A.C.A.) is dedicated to the promotion and organization of camping in Alberta. It was initially formed in 1949 as a Provincial Section of the Canadian Camping Association, which was incorporated federally by Letters Patent on November 5, 1949. The objectives of the Alberta Camping Association were: to further the interests and welfare of children, youths and adults through camping as an educative, character building and constructive recreational experience; to act as an Alberta promotional and coordinating body for camping throughout Alberta; to develop, maintain and recognize high standards in camping; to represent member groups and to serve as a contact between government and those groups, and to keep people informed of governmental developments and regulations; and to interpret and disseminate knowledge concerning camping in general and to study the wider aspects of the camping movement.

The Alberta Camping Association was incorporated in its own right December 17, 1971 under Alberta’s Societies Act. The A.C.A. remains committed to quality and safety, offering a Standards & Accreditation program, education and resources for member camp programs and facilities in Alberta. The objectives of the Association now include the aims: to develop, maintain and encourage high standards of organized camping; to provide information about camps and to interpret children’s camping to parents and the general public; to strive for the recruitment and training of leaders for every phase of camping; to develop awareness and appreciation of the natural environment, and to encourage activities which are harmonious with it.

Members include camps, associate members, commercial members, student members and general members. The A.C.A is a federated member of the Canadian Camping Association. It is a not-for profit organization managed by a ten-member volunteer board of directors and a staff of three based in Edmonton.

The fonds contains records of the Alberta Camping Association and include two sous-fonds, the Northern Alberta Branch of the Alberta Camping Association sous-fonds and the Calgary and District Branch of the Alberta Camping Association sous-fonds; and one series, Canadian Camping Association records, which relate to the A.C.A.’s affiliation with the Canadian Camping Association and include constitutions, bylaws, minutes, reports, correspondence, financial statements, and issues of the Canadian Camping Magazine.

The fonds also includes: constitutions, bylaws, incorporation records, meeting minutes, reports, financial records and statements, membership records, correspondence, seminar workbooks, programs, directories, newsletters, educational material, camp standards, statistics, contest material, grant material, manuals and handbooks, pamphlets and information about various camps throughout the province, conference handouts and slides, and photographs of camps.