While operator algebras has its origins rooted in forming a rigorous account of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century, it has since grown tremendously, branching out to form interactions and relations with many areas of mathematics, notably group theory, harmonic analysis, ergodic theory, probability, logic, number theory, geometry, knot theory, and quantum information. The Canadian Operator Symposium is a long-standing annual meeting which has taken place since 1972.