List of dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada

The Anglican Church of Canada, a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, contains thirty-two jurisdictions, consisting of twenty-nine dioceses, one administrative region with diocesan status, one ordinariate (for military chaplaincy), and one national pastoral jurisdiction (for indigenous people). The 29 dioceses and the special administrative area are organised into four ecclesiastical provinces.

Most dioceses are contained within a single civil province or territory. The four exceptions are the Arctic, Moosonee, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and Ottawa dioceses.

Each diocese has a bishop, four of whom are archbishops as metropolitans of their ecclesiastical province. Dioceses are self-governing entities, incorporated under the Corporations Act of the civil province or territory in which they are active.

Diocesan synods generally meet annually and have responsibility for those aspects of church life which do not concern doctrine, discipline, or worship. These latter matters are the purview of the General Synod of the national church, which meets triennially and at other times delegates its powers to an elected body of clergy and laity, called the Council of General Synod, and to the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Provinces

The Anglican Church of Canada is divided into four ecclesiastical provinces, each under the jurisdiction of a provincial synod and a metropolitan archbishop. Originally the metropolitans were bishops of particular dioceses within the provinces. In 1893 the metropolitans were granted the title of "archbishop", and they are now elected from among the bishops of each province.

• The Ecclesiastical Province of Canada was founded in 1860, originally consisting of the four dioceses in the then civil Province of Canada (Upper and Lower Canada, i.e. modern Ontario and Quebec, respectively) under the metropolitical authority of the Bishop of Montreal. The province was expanded in 1870 and 1871 to include New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In 1913, the Ontario dioceses were split off to form the Province of Ontario (see below). The Province was expanded to include the civil province of Newfoundland following its entrance into Confederation in 1949. The province today comprises seven dioceses.
• The Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land was formed in 1875, covering the Prairie Provinces and initially under the metropolitical authority of the Bishop of Rupert's Land. Today it comprises ten dioceses.
• The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario was formed out of the Province of Canada and the Diocese of Moosonee (which had been in the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land) in 1912. Today, it comprises seven dioceses.
• The Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon was formed out of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land as the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia in 1914. It was expanded in 1943 (and consequently renamed) to incorporate the Diocese of Yukon, which was transferred from Rupert's Land. The province today comprises five dioceses.

Archbishops

The Primate of Canada (who has no diocese) bears the title Archbishop and is styled The Most Reverend. The current Primate is Linda Nicholls. The Primate is elected from among all the bishops across the country.

The four metropolitans (who all bear the style of The Most Reverend and the title Archbishop) are:

• Canada: Ron Cutler, Archbishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
• Rupert's Land: Greg Kerr-Wilson, Archbishop of Calgary
• Ontario: Anne Germond, Archbishop of Algoma and Moosonee [1]
• British Columbia and Yukon: Melissa Skelton, Archbishop of New Westminster

The National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop has no metropolitical authority, but also bears the style of The Most Reverend and the title Archbishop. The holder of this office (established as a bishopric in 2005, inaugurated in 2007, and raised to the status of an archbishopric in 2019) has the spiritual leadership of indigenous people nationwide. The post is currently held by Mark MacDonald.[2]

Dioceses and bishops

Diocese	Province	Territory	Cathedral	See City	Bishop(s)	Founded
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island	Canada	Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island	All Saints' Cathedral St. Peter's Cathedral	Halifax Charlottetown	Ron Cutler	11 August 1787 (Nova Scotia),[3] covering all British North America (the first Church of England diocese outside England)
Quebec	Canada	Quebec	Cathedral of the Holy Trinity	Quebec City	Bruce Myers	28 June 1793,[4] from Nova Scotia diocese
Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador	Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist	St. John's	Geoff Peddle	1839 (Newfoundland), from Nova Scotia diocese[5][N 1]
Toronto	Ontario	Ontario	St. James' Cathedral	Toronto	Andrew Asbil Bishop of York-Credit Valley: Jenny Andison Bishop of York-Scarborough: Kevin Robertson Bishop of Trent-Durham: Riscylla Shaw Bishop of York-Simcoe: Peter Fenty	1839 (a.k.a. Upper Canada), from Quebec diocese[5]
Fredericton	Canada	New Brunswick	Christ Church Cathedral	Fredericton	David Edwards	1845 (a.k.a. New Brunswick), from Nova Scotia diocese[5]
Rupert's Land	Rupert's Land	Manitoba and Ontario	Cathedral of St. John	Winnipeg	Geoff Woodcroft	1849 (originally covering all of what is now the ecclesiastical province), probably from Quebec diocese[7]
Montreal	Canada	Quebec	Christ Church Cathedral	Montreal	Mary Irwin-Gibson	1850, from Quebec diocese[8]
Huron	Ontario	Ontario	St. Paul's Cathedral	London	Todd Townsend	1857, from Toronto diocese[5]
British Columbia	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	Christ Church Cathedral	Victoria	Logan McMenamie	1859,[9] from Rupert's Land diocese
Ontario	Ontario	Ontario	St. George's Cathedral	Kingston	Michael Oulton	1862, from Toronto diocese[10]
Moosonee	Ontario	Ontario and Quebec	St. Matthew's Cathedral	Timmins, ON	Anne Germond (ex officio) Assisting Bishop: Tom Corston	1872, from Rupert's Land diocese[11]
Algoma	Ontario	Ontario	St. Luke's Cathedral	Sault Ste. Marie	Anne Germond	1873, from Toronto diocese (missionary diocese); 1906 (independence)[12]
Athabasca	Rupert's Land	Alberta	St. James' Cathedral	Peace River	David Greenwood	1874, from Rupert's Land diocese[11]
Saskatchewan	Rupert's Land	Saskatchewan	St. Alban's Cathedral	Prince Albert	Michael Hawkins Indigenous Bishop: Adam Halkett	1874, from Rupert's Land diocese[11]
Niagara	Ontario	Ontario	Christ's Church Cathedral	Hamilton	Susan Bell	1875, from Toronto diocese[10]
Caledonia	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	St. Andrew's Cathedral	Prince Rupert	David Lehmann	1879, from BC diocese[13]
New Westminster	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	Christ Church Cathedral	Vancouver	Melissa Skelton	1879, from BC diocese[14]
Mackenzie River	Rupert's Land[15]	Northwest Territories	St Paul's Pro-Cathedral	Fort Chipewyan	Lapsed in 1933 (territory split between the Yukon and Arctic dioceses)[15]	1883, from Athabasca diocese[16]
Qu'Appelle	Rupert's Land	Saskatchewan	St. Paul's Cathedral	Regina	Robert Hardwick	1884 (as Assiniboia), from Rupert's Land and Saskatchewan dioceses;[17] name changed later in 1884[18]
Calgary	Rupert's Land	Alberta	Cathedral Church of the Redeemer	Calgary	Greg Kerr-Wilson	1888, from Saskatchewan diocese[19]
Yukon	British Columbia and Yukon	Yukon	Christ Church Cathedral	Whitehorse	Lesley Wheeler-Dame	1891 (as Selkirk; from Mackenzie River)
Ottawa	Ontario	Ontario and Quebec	Christ Church Cathedral	Ottawa	Shane Parker	7 April 1896, from Ontario diocese[20]
Kootenay	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral	Kelowna	Lynne McNaughton	1899, from New Westminster diocese[21]
Keewatin	Rupert's Land	Ontario and Manitoba	St. Alban's Cathedral (former)	Kenora, ON	Lapsed in 2015 (territory split between the Moosonee and Mishamikoweesh dioceses)	1902, from Rupert's Land diocese[22]
Brandon	Rupert's Land	Manitoba	St. Matthew's Cathedral	Brandon	William Cliff	1913, from Rupert's Land diocese[23]
Edmonton	Rupert's Land	Alberta	All Saints' Cathedral	Edmonton	Jane Alexander	1913, from Calgary diocese[24]
Cariboo	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	St. Paul's Cathedral	Kamloops	Ceased operation as at December 31, 2001	1914, from New Westminster diocese[25]
Arctic	Rupert's Land	Northwest Territories and Nunavut	St. Jude's Cathedral	Iqaluit, NU	Diocesan: David Parsons Suffragan: Joey Royal, Annie Ittoshat, Lucy Netser	1933, from Mackenzie River diocese and parts of Moosonee and Keewatin dioceses[26]
Saskatoon	Rupert's Land	Saskatchewan	St. John's Cathedral	Saskatoon	Chris Harper	1933, from Saskatchewan diocese[19]
Central Newfoundland	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador	St. Martin's Cathedral	Gander	John Watton	1976, from Newfoundland diocese[6]
Western Newfoundland	Canada	Newfoundland and Labrador	Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist	Corner Brook	John Organ	1976, from Newfoundland diocese[6]
Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh	Rupert's Land	Ontario and Manitoba	none designated	Kingfisher Lake	Lydia Mamakwa	2014, from Keewatin diocese
Territory of the People	British Columbia and Yukon	British Columbia	St. Paul's Cathedral	Kamloops	Lincoln Mckeon	2015 ("recognized territory" status)[N 2] 2002 (closure of Cariboo diocese)[N 3]
Anglican Military Ordinariate of Canada	NA	Extra-Territorial	Christ Church Cathedral	Ottawa	Nigel Shaw	1939[28]

See also

• List of Anglican Communion dioceses
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Canada

Notes

1. The old Diocese of Newfoundland was founded in 1839. The Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador came into being upon that diocese's 1976 split.[6]
2. On November 14, 2015, the Council of the Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod gave final approval to recognition of then-Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior as a "recognized territory [with] the status of a diocese" (but not called one) and the former territory of the former Cariboo diocese.[27]
3. The Territory of the People encompasses the area formerly known as the Anglican Diocese of Cariboo, which was rendered insolvent by legal claims arising from abuse that occurred in Church-administered First Nations residential schools, and ceased to operate on December 31, 2001. The parishes are currently the pastoral responsibility of the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province, and are overseen by a suffragan bishop to the Metropolitan.

References

1. "Anne Germond". The Diocese of Algoma. Anglican Church of Canada. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
2. "Biography: Archbishop Mark L. MacDonald". The Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
3. "No. 12910". The London Gazette. 7 August 1787. p. 373.
4. Literary & Historical Society of Quebec – The English Cathedral of Quebec Archived 2013-08-19 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 3 July 2013)
5. Responsible Government in the Dominions, Part VII: The Church in the Dominions, pp. 1424–1425 (Google Book; accessed 3 July 2013)
6. Peddle, G. The Anglican Church in Newfoundland: An Exceptional Case? p. 28 (Accessed 7 July 2013)
7. Diocese of Rupert's Land – History (Accessed 3 July 2013)
8. Borthwick, Douglas: History of the Diocese of Montreal, 1850–1910 p. 5 (Internet Archive; accessed 3 July 2013)
9. Anglican Diocese of British Columbia – Diocesan Archives Archived 2013-07-08 at Archive.today (Accessed 4 July 2013)
10. Diocese of Niagara – About Us (Accessed 5 July 2013)
11. MacDonald, Wilma – Anglican Archives in Rupert's Land (pp. 246–247; accessed 3 July 2013)
12. Ontario's Anglican Cathedrals – Diocese of Algoma (Accessed 5 July 2013)
13. MemoryBC: The British Columbia Archival Information Network – Anglican Church of Canada. Diocese of Caledonia. Synod (Accessed 5 July 2013)
14. MemoryBC: The British Columbia Archival Information Network – Fonds - Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster fonds (Accessed 5 July 2013)
15. Anglican Church of Canada – Metropolitans of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land
16. Diocese of Athabasca – History (Accessed 5 July 2013)
17. Anglican History – An Historical Sketch of the Diocese of Saskatchewan of the Anglican Church of Canada (Accessed 5 July 2013)
18. Diocese of Qu'Appelle – How the Diocese Got its Name (Accessed 5 July 2013)
19. Diocese of Saskatchewan – History (Accessed 5 July 2013)
20. Anglican Diocese of Ottawa – History Archived 2015-05-13 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 7 July 2013)
21. MemoryBC: The British Columbia Archival Information Network – Fonds - Synod of the Diocese of Kootenay fonds (Accessed 7 July 2013)
22. Council of the North Prayer Circle Archived 2014-08-11 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 7 July 2013).
23. The Synod of the Diocese of Brandon Incorporation Act (Accessed 7 July 2013)
24. Anglican Diocese of Edmonton – Centennial Celebration Year (Accessed 7 July 2013)
25. Diocese of New Westminster – Residential Schools Archived 2013-07-08 at Archive.today (Accessed 7 July 2013)
26. Archives Canada – Anglican Church of Canada. Diocese of the Arctic fonds Archived 2013-07-08 at Archive.today (Accessed 7 July 2013)
27. Anglican Church of Canada — Highlights from the Council of General Synod: November 14, 2015 (Accessed 16 November 2015)
28. (Accessed 11 July 2016)