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.
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 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:
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. Mark MacDonald, the first holder of the office, resigned in 2022 as a result of sexual misconduct. Nicholls appointed Bishop Sidney Black as interim National Indigenous Bishop. [2] In December of that year, Bishop Chris Harper of Saskatoon was announced as the new archbishop-elect. [3]
| Diocese | Province | Territory | Cathedral | See City | Bishop(s) | Founded | Number of Parishes (2022) [4] | Membership (2022) [4] | Average Sunday Attendance (2022) [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island | Canada | Nova Scotia | All Saints' Cathedral | Halifax | Sandra Fyfe | 11 August 1787 (Nova Scotia), [5] covering all British North America (the first Church of England diocese outside England) | 94 | 21,892 | 5,126 |
| Quebec | Canada | Quebec | Cathedral of the Holy Trinity | Quebec City | Bruce Myers | 28 June 1793, [6] from Nova Scotia diocese | 65 | 1,586 | 375 |
| Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador | Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador | Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist | St. John's | Samuel Rose | 1839 (Newfoundland), from Nova Scotia diocese [7] [N 1] | 39 | 21,053 | 1,600 |
| Toronto | Ontario | Ontario | St. James' Cathedral | Toronto | Andrew Asbil Bishop of York-Scarborough: Kevin Robertson | 1839 (a.k.a. Upper Canada), from Quebec diocese [7] | 178 | 37,646 | 13,810 |
| Fredericton | Canada | New Brunswick | Christ Church Cathedral | Fredericton | David Edwards | 1845 (a.k.a. New Brunswick), from Nova Scotia diocese [7] | 72 | 9,823 | 2,373 |
| Rupert's Land | Northern Lights | Manitoba and Ontario | Cathedral of St. John | Winnipeg | Geoffrey Woodcroft | 1849 (originally covering all of what is now the ecclesiastical province), probably from Quebec diocese [9] | 52 | 4,215 | 1,608 |
| Montreal | Canada | Quebec | Christ Church Cathedral | Montreal | Mary Irwin-Gibson | 1850, from Quebec diocese [10] | 68 | 7,017 | 3,405 |
| Huron | Ontario | Ontario | St. Paul's Cathedral | London | Todd Townshend | 1857, from Toronto diocese [7] | 124 | 21,000 | 6,000 |
| British Columbia (also known as the diocese of Islands and Inlets ) | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | Christ Church Cathedral | Victoria | Anna Greenwood-Lee | 1859, [11] from Rupert's Land diocese | 45 | 4,890 | 2,200 |
| Ontario | Ontario | Ontario | St. George's Cathedral | Kingston | William Cliff | 1862, from Toronto diocese [12] | 46 | 5,896 | 2,261 |
| Moosonee | Ontario | Ontario and Quebec | St. Matthew's Cathedral | Timmins, ON | Anne Germond (ex officio) Assisting Bishop: Fred Hiltz | 1872, from Rupert's Land diocese [13] | 21 | 14,219 | 350 |
| Algoma | Ontario | Ontario | St. Luke's Cathedral | Sault Ste. Marie | Anne Germond | 1873, from Toronto diocese (missionary diocese); 1906 (independence) [14] | 52 | 5,053 | 923 |
| Athabasca | Northern Lights | Alberta | St. James' Cathedral | Peace River | David Greenwood | 1874, from Rupert's Land diocese [13] | 17 | 896 | 306 |
| Saskatchewan | Northern Lights | Saskatchewan | St. Alban's Cathedral | Prince Albert | Diocesan Bishop: Richard Reed Indigenous Bishop: Adam Halkett | 1874, from Rupert's Land diocese [13] | 22 | 8,417 | 915 |
| Niagara | Ontario | Ontario | Christ's Church Cathedral | Hamilton | Susan Bell | 1875, from Toronto diocese [12] | 80 | 12,967 | 3,916 |
| Caledonia | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | St. Andrew's Cathedral | Prince Rupert | David Lehmann | 1879, from BC diocese [15] | 20 | 1,048 | 405 |
| New Westminster | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | Christ Church Cathedral | Vancouver | John Stephens | 1879, from BC diocese [16] | 63 | 9,952 | 3,296 |
| Mackenzie River | Rupert's Land [17] | Northwest Territories | St Paul's Pro-Cathedral | Fort Chipewyan | Lapsed in 1933 (territory split between the Yukon and Arctic dioceses) [17] | 1883, from Athabasca diocese [18] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Qu'Appelle | Northern Lights | Saskatchewan | St. Paul's Cathedral | Regina | Helen Kennedy | 1884 (as Assiniboia), from Rupert's Land and Saskatchewan dioceses; [19] name changed later in 1884 [20] | 26 | 2,727 | 852 |
| Calgary | Northern Lights | Alberta | Cathedral Church of the Redeemer | Calgary | Greg Kerr-Wilson | 1888, from Saskatchewan diocese [21] | 67 | 7,523 | 2,496 |
| Yukon | British Columbia and Yukon | Yukon | Christ Church Cathedral | Whitehorse | Lesley Wheeler-Dame | 1891 (as Selkirk; from Mackenzie River) | 13 | 963 | 122 |
| Ottawa | Ontario | Ontario and Quebec | Christ Church Cathedral | Ottawa | Shane Parker | 7 April 1896, from Ontario diocese [22] | 68 | 8,809 | 2,277 |
| Kootenay | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral | Kelowna | Lynne McNaughton | 1899, from New Westminster diocese [23] | 26 | 2,363 | 840 |
| Keewatin | Northern Lights | 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 [24] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Brandon | Northern Lights | Manitoba | St. Matthew's Cathedral | Brandon | Rachael Parker | 1913, from Rupert's Land diocese [25] | 25 | 2,935 | 337 |
| Edmonton | Northern Lights | Alberta | All Saints' Cathedral | Edmonton | Stephen London | 1913, from Calgary diocese [26] | 44 | 5,912 | 1,417 |
| Cariboo | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | St. Paul's Cathedral | Kamloops | Ceased operation as at December 31, 2001 | 1914, from New Westminster diocese [27] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Arctic | Northern Lights | 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 [28] | 48 | 33,889 | 1,808 |
| Saskatoon | Northern Lights | Saskatchewan | St. John's Cathedral | Saskatoon | Vacant | 1933, from Saskatchewan diocese [21] | 19 | 1,500 | 525 |
| Central Newfoundland | Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador | St. Martin's Cathedral | Gander | John Watton | 1976, from Newfoundland diocese [8] | 27 | 9,375 | 2,642 |
| Western Newfoundland | Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador | Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist | Corner Brook | John Organ | 1976, from Newfoundland diocese [8] | 30 | 16,360 | 1,394 |
| Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh | Northern Lights | Ontario and Manitoba | none designated | Kingfisher Lake | Lydia Mamakwa | 2014, from Keewatin diocese | 28 | 14,000 | 900 |
| Territory of the People | British Columbia and Yukon | British Columbia | St. Paul's Cathedral | Kamloops | Clara Plamondon | 2015 ("recognized territory" status) [N 2] 2002 (closure of Cariboo diocese) [N 3] | 19 | 1,005 | 295 |
| Anglican Military Ordinariate of Canada | NA | Extra-Territorial | Christ Church Cathedral | Ottawa | Nigel Shaw | 1939 [30] | N/A | N/A | N/A |
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses, one of them being the archdiocese, headed by a metropolitan bishop or archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province.
The Anglican Church of Canada is the province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is l'Église anglicane du Canada. In 2022, the Anglican Church counted 294,931 members on parish rolls in 1,978 congregations, organized into 1,498 parishes. The 2021 Canadian census counted 1,134,315 self-identified Anglicans, making the Anglican Church the third-largest Canadian church after the Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada.
The Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, founded in 1860, forms one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Despite modern use of the name Canada, the ecclesiastical province covers only the former territory of Lower Canada, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland and Labrador. It once also included Upper Canada (Ontario), which was split off as the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario in 1911. The province comprises seven dioceses:
The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and the Diocese of Moosonee from the Province of Rupert's Land.
The Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights, founded in 1875 as the Province of Rupert's Land, forms one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was founded in 1914 as the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia, but changed its name in 1943 when the Diocese of Yukon was incorporated from the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land. The territory covered by the province encompasses the civil province of British Columbia and Yukon. There are five dioceses and one "recognized territory [with] the status of a diocese" in the province:
The Diocese of Keewatin was a diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada. As of 1 August 2014, it no longer had any territorial jurisdiction, but it continued to exist as a legal entity until 30 September 2015, when it was formally closed.
Colin Robert Johnson is the former Anglican archbishop of Toronto and Moosonee, and he served as Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario from 2009 to 2018. He was the 11th Bishop of Toronto, the largest diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada.
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The Diocese of Rupert's Land is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is named for the historical British North American territory of Rupert's Land, which was contained within the original diocesan boundaries.
The Diocese of Algoma is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises nearly 182,000 square kilometres of the Ontario districts of Algoma, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Manitoulin, and parts of the districts of Nipissing and Timiskaming. The diocese forms a wide band stretching from just west of Thunder Bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior east to the border of Ontario and Quebec. Neighbouring Anglican dioceses are Rupert's Land to the west, Moosonee to the north, Ottawa to the east, and Ontario, Toronto, Huron to the south.
The Diocese of Moosonee is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It was created in 1872 from part of the Diocese of Rupert's Land, in what is now the Province of the Northern Lights, and transferred in 1912 to the new Province of Ontario. Now headquartered in Timmins, Ontario, it was originally headquartered in Moose Factory. Its first bishop was John Horden.
The Diocese of Yukon is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises 13 parishes across the Yukon and parts of northern British Columbia.
The Anglican Church of Canada is the third largest church in Canada, after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada. After many years of debate, the first blessing of a same-sex partnership took place in 2003, by the Diocese of New Westminster, in Vancouver. This was not considered a marriage ceremony, but rather a blessing of "permanent and faithful commitments" between persons of the same sex.
George Frederick Kingston was a Canadian Anglican bishop in the 20th century.
George Thorneloe was a Canadian Anglican bishop at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
William Lockridge Wright was a Canadian Anglican bishop in the 20th century.
Anne Germond is a South African-born Anglican bishop and the acting Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Since 10 October 2018, she has served as Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, as well as Archbishop of Algoma and Archbishop of Moosonee, in the Anglican Church of Canada. She had served as Bishop of Algoma from February 2017 until becoming its archbishop upon election as 19th Metropolitan of Ontario.
