Publication Guide
Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) is Canada's largest independent, not-for-profit publisher of international scientific journals. It publishes 26 peer-reviewed journals covering the natural and physical sciences and engineering - from the long-running Canadian Journal family (Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Forest Research, Earth Sciences, and more) to Genome and the multidisciplinary open-access journal FACETS.
The press traces its roots to 1929, when the National Research Council of Canada launched the Canadian Journal of Research. It operated for decades as NRC Research Press before becoming the independent, not-for-profit Canadian Science Publishing in 2010, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. CSP is affiliated with more than 25 Canadian and international scientific societies, and publishes roughly 2,500 articles a year for authors in over 125 countries. This guide covers how to choose a CSP journal, what open access costs, how peer review works, and how to submit.
Which Canadian Science Publishing journal fits your paper?
CSP's portfolio splits into 19 hybrid subscription journals - free to publish in, with an optional OpenArticle open-access fee - and 7 fully open-access titles. Use the guide below to choose the right route.
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary paper you want fully open access | FACETS - Canada's first multidisciplinary open-access science journal; APC ~$2,650 (2026). |
| Work in fisheries, forestry, wildlife, or earth/environmental science | The Canadian Journal family - e.g., Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Free to publish; hybrid OA optional. |
| Publish genetics or genomics research | Genome - CSP's genetics and genomics title; subscription-based with an optional ~$3,400 OpenArticle fee. |
| Work in engineering or applied science | Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, or Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. |
| Study polar or northern environments, drones, or freshwater policy | Arctic Science, Drone Systems and Applications, or Freshwater Policy and Practice - newer fully-OA venues. |
What Canadian Science Publishing actually publishes
26 peer-reviewed journals, organized broadly as:
- The Canadian Journal family - the historic core: Canadian Journal of Physics, Canadian Journal of Chemistry, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Canadian Journal of Microbiology, and others, many published continuously since the NRC Research Press era.
- Specialty titles - Genome, Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Botany, Environmental Reviews, and the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience.
- Fully open-access journals (7) - FACETS, Arctic Science, Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Contaminants, Environment, and Society, Drone Systems and Applications, Freshwater Policy and Practice, and Circularity in Built Environments.
Open access & APCs
CSP offers three OA routes. Fees below are the standard 2026 rates - charged in CAD (plus tax) to authors in Canada and in USD to authors outside Canada. Always check the journal's publication-fees page before submitting.
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold OA (fully-OA journals) | FACETS ~$2,650; short pieces less | CC BY licence; no submission fees |
| OpenArticle (hybrid OA) | ~3,950 per article | Optional at acceptance or proof stage; e.g., Genome ~3,950 |
| Subscription (no OA fee) | Free | No page charges; reviews and discussions often free access by default |
Discounts and waivers: APCs are waived for corresponding authors in Research4Life group A/B countries. Authors at Canadian universities subscribing via CRKN get 25% off hybrid OA fees; authors at Canadian federal FSLN departments have the fee waived (post-2025 submissions). The University of California agreement pays the first $1,000 of any CSP OA fee, and CSP holds Read & Publish agreements with universities in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Mexico, Norway, and elsewhere - check your library.
Peer review process
- Default model: single-anonymized peer review across most CSP journals; individual titles state their model in the author guidelines.
- Screening: submissions are first screened by the journal's Editor before being sent to referees.
- Reviewer credit: CSP partners with the Web of Science Reviewer Recognition Service, so reviews can be added to your Web of Science researcher profile.
- Turnaround: varies by journal and field; check the journal's homepage for current statistics.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Browse the CSP portfolio at cdnsciencepub.com and read each title's scope statement.
- Read the author guidelines. Each journal has title-specific requirements; CSP also provides a submission checklist, figure-preparation guidance, and a data-availability policy.
- Prepare your manuscript. Use the journal's template on SciSpace; CSP journals generally use Vancouver-style numbered or name-year reference formats - confirm in the guidelines.
- Submit via ScholarOne. CSP journals use ScholarOne Manuscripts for online submission and peer review, accessible from each journal's homepage.
- Pay any fees after acceptance. OA fees are handled through SciPris; discounts are applied automatically based on the corresponding author's institution.
Ethics and integrity
CSP is a member of COPE and follows its guidelines on retractions, corrections, and publication ethics, and participates in industry initiatives through STM. Articles are published under a licence-to-publish agreement, with CC BY licensing for open-access articles. Green self-archiving is permitted, including auto-deposit of accepted manuscripts to the University of Toronto's TSpace repository. CSP has also signed the SDG Publishers Compact.
