[1] In the earliest years, M&S concentrated primarily on exclusive distribution and printing agreements with foreign-owned publishing houses.

[3] The company slowly expanded its list of Canadian authors to include writers such as Bliss Carman, Duncan Campbell Scott and Stephen Leacock.

Jack McClelland acted as the head of the company since the early 1950s, though he was officially in the position of general manager.

The term "quality" was intended to suggest a divide between the mass market paperback and this higher production valued, often scholastic, publication.

This was at a time when Canadian literary identity was beginning to be valued on a large scale level in Canada (it was after the war, and influenced by that as well).

[6] Many of the authors Gibson had worked with at Macmillan — including Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant, Robertson Davies, Jack Hodgins, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Hugh Maclennan and W. O. Mitchell — followed him to the new imprint.

In 1971, the Ontario Development Corporation made a $961,645 loan to stave off imminent collapse due to an unsustainable burden of debt.

[9] Canada Post has issued a single commemorative stamp celebrating McClelland & Stewart's centennial.