Overview of Freemasons in Canada
The Masonic
Square and Compasses . (Found with or without the letter
G )
Freemasonry is a
fraternal organisation that arose from the loose organization of medieval masons (i.e. stone workers) working in the medieval building industry.
[1]
History
Freemasonry in Canada traces its origins to the
United Grand Lodge of England , the
Grand Lodge of Scotland and the
Grand Lodge of Ireland , as a result of Canada's history as a dominion within the
British Empire . Freemasonry in the United States, including
Prince Hall Freemasonry , also influenced the formation of Freemasonry in Canada.
Erasmus James Philipps became a Freemason while working on a commission to resolve boundaries in
New England and, in 1739, became provincial grand master for Nova Scotia; Philipps founded the first Masonic lodge in Canada at
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia .
[2] The Castle Island Virtual Lodge No. 190 is an example of an internet lodge whereby meetings are conducted online rather than in person.
[1]
Masonic Fathers of Confederation
At the time of confederation in 1867, eleven men of the 37
Fathers of Confederation were Freemasons.
[3]
Hewitt Bernard – Lawyer, Recording Secretary at the
Charlottetown Conference
Alexander Campbell – Senator (1867–1887),
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1897–1892)
Frederick Carter – First Premier of
Newfoundland
Edward Barron Chandler –
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (1878–1880)
Alexander Tilloch Galt –
Minister of Finance (1867), Founder of the
North Western Coal and Navigation Company and
Lethbridge, AB
John Hamilton Gray –
Premier of New Brunswick (1856–1857)
Thomas Heath Haviland – Senator (1873–1879),
Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (1879–1884)
William Alexander Henry –
Mayor of Halifax (1870–1871),
Supreme Court Justice (1875–1888)
John A. Macdonald
[4] – First
Prime Minister (1867–1873, 1878–1891)
William Henry Pope – Lawyer, Newspaper Editor, Colonial Secretary
Samuel Leonard Tilley – Pharmacist, Premier of New Brunswick (1861–1865), Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (1885–1893 and 1873–1878), Originator of "Dominion" in
Canada's name
Other Notable Canadian Masons
Governors
Politicians
John Abbott – Prime Minister (1891–1892)
Richard Bedford Bennett – Prime Minister (1930–1935)
Robert Laird Borden – Prime Minister (1911–1920)
Sir MacKenzie Bowell – Prime Minister (1894–1896)
John Diefenbaker – Prime Minister (1957–1963)
[5]
Thomas C. Douglas – Premier of Saskatchewan (1944–1961), Leader of
New Democratic Party (1961–1971), father of Universal Healthcare, voted as
The Greatest Canadian
George Alexander Drew – Premier of Ontario (1943–1948)
George Howard Ferguson – Premier of Ontario (1923–1930)
Donald Methuen Fleming –
Minister of Finance (1957–1962),
Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1962–1963)
Ezra Butler Eddy – Businessman, Mayor of
Hull, Quebec , Member of
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
Leslie Miscampbell Frost – Premier of Ontario (1949–1961)
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn – Youngest Premier of Ontario (1934–1942) at age 37
Alexander Keith – Mayor of Halifax (1853–1853), President of Legislative Council of Nova Scotia (1867–1873), Founder of
Alexander Keith's Brewery
James Kirkpatrick Kerr – Lawyer, Senator (1903–1916), Speaker of the Senate (1909–1911)
John Ross Matheson – Lawyer, Judge, MP for
Leeds (1961–1968), Helped develop the
maple leaf flag and the
Order of Canada .
Nathan Phillips –
Mayor of Toronto (1955–1962)
Erasmus James Philipps – Member of the Nova Scotia Council (1730-1760)
Erasmus James Philipps,
Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Alexander Cameron Rutherford – First Premier of Alberta (1905–1910)
Allen Bristol Aylesworth – Senator, MP for
York North ,
Postmaster General of Canada
George Ryerson – MPP for Toronto
Joey Smallwood – First Premier of
Newfoundland , self-dubbed "The Last Father of Confederation"
William Grenville "Bill" Davis – 18th Premier of Ontario
Bob Bailey – MPP for
Sarnia-Lambton
Businessmen
Harold Ballard – Businessman and Sportsman
Samuel Bronfman – Businessman and Philanthropist
John David Eaton – Businessman, Member of the
Eaton family
John Bayne Maclean
[6] – Publisher, Founder of
Maclean's magazine, the
Financial Post and the
Maclean Publishing Company
Colonel Samuel McLaughlin – Businessman, Philanthropist, Founder of the
McLaughlin Motor Car Company
John Molson – Businessman, Founder of
Molson Brewery
Joseph Seagram – Founder of
Seagram Distilleries
Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet – Newspaper Proprietor,
Fleet Street Mogul, Namesake for
Roy Thomson Hall , Appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Military
Science and Engineering
Sports
Clergy
Arts
Others
Notable Masonic buildings in Canada
Grand Lodge of Canada,
King Street West , Hamilton, Ontario
Governing bodies
There is a number of various supreme organisations (Grand Lodges, National Lodges, Grand Orients, and Federations) active in Canada representing a number of regularity / amity networks along with a number of independent lodges.
Supreme Body
Jurisdiction
Established
HQ
Number of Lodges
Membership
Regularity
Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario (GLCPOO)
Ontario
1855
Hamilton
560
36,733
[20]
UGLE
Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons Province of Ontario and Jurisdiction
Ontario
Quebec
[21]
1856
[21]
10
[22]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Manitoba
Manitoba
1875
[23]
Winnipeg
54
1,971
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
1997
St. John's
30
1,533
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Quebec
Quebec
1869
Montréal
77
[24]
3,771
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
1866
[23]
Halifax
114
3,473
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
1867
[23]
Saint John
51
2,568
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
1875
[23]
15
[25]
626
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
1906
[26]
Regina
58
2,365
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
British Columbia
Yukon
1871
Vancouver
143
[27]
6,004
[20]
UGLE
Grand Lodge of Alberta
Alberta
1905
Calgary
119
[28]
6,242
[20]
UGLE
Grande Loge ANI du Canada[
citation needed ]
Canada
2009
Montreal
3
CLIPSAS
Fédération canadienne du Droit Humain
Canada
8 (6 in french, 1 in english, 1 in spanish)
[29]
DH
Grand Orient du Québec
Quebec
2012
4
[30]
Grande Loge Nationale du Canada
Canada
1985
16
[31]
CLIPSAS
Gran Logia de Lengua Española de Canada (Spanish Language)
Canada
5
[32]
Membership numbers could be overstated, as membership in multiple lodges is actively encouraged.
There appears to be a number of other supreme bodies in the country, including Grand Orient de France Amerique du Nord, Obédience Mixte Nord-Américaine: George Washington Union, Grand Orient du Canada, Grande Loge Autonome du Québec, Grande Loge Mixte du Québec, but the information on them is not readily available.
The
Grand Lodge of Scotland has a District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador responsible for 11 lodges.
[33]
The Grand Lodge of Alberta also includes the Northwest Territories, particularly a lodge in Yellowknife, although there used to be a lodge in Inuvik in the 2000s (Far North Lodge).
See also
References
^
"What is Freemasonry?" . freemason.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^
History of Freemasons in Nova Scotia
^ Michael Jenkyns (July 2017).
"Canada's Sesquicentennial – Freemasonry and Confederation" . Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario. Archived from
the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018 .
^ McKeown, Trevor W.
"Canadian Masonic Prime Ministers" . freemasonry.bcy.ca . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^ Developers)905-785-9906, Gouda Inc. (Web.
"Famous Masons" . www.torontomasons.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link )
^
"Famous Masons" . www.highland762.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^ Yumpu.com.
"Bro Alexander Roberts Dunn, VC – Grand Masonic Lodge of Alberta" . yumpu.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^
"Elgin Lodge No. 7 A. F. & A. M." The Gazette . Montreal, Quebec. January 6, 1948. p. 15.
^
"Dowell, Hanson T. (The Honourable, QC) — 94" .
The Chronicle Herald . Halifax, Nova Scotia. September 25, 2000. p. 37.
^ "Court, hockey officials, MPP pay tribute to G. S. Dudley". Midland Free Press . Midland, Ontario. May 11, 1960. p. 7.
^ Cheryl MacDonald, ed. (1992). Grand Heritage . Dunnville, Ontario: Dunnville District Heritage Association. p. 315.
ISBN
1-55056-084-0 .
^
"Install New Officers at Kemptville Lodge" . Ottawa Citizen . Ottawa, Ontario. December 30, 1933. p. 21.
^
"CAHA Official Doug Grimston Passes at 55" . Lethbridge Herald . Lethbridge, Alberta. September 15, 1955. p. 7.
;
"Hockey Official Dies in Hospital" . Medicine Hat News . Medicine Hat, Alberta. September 15, 1955. p. 4.
^
"Today in Masonic History – Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton is Born" . masonrytoday.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^
"Potter, Arthur (Art)" . Edmonton Journal . Edmonton, Alberta. January 21, 1998. p. 16.
^ "Deaths: Sargent". The Chronicle-Journal . Thunder Bay, Ontario. September 29, 1988. p. 31.
^
"Dentist Dies Suddenly At Home" . Winnipeg Tribune . Winnipeg, Manitoba. April 13, 1945. p. 43.
^
"Today in Masonic History – Derwyn Trevor Owen is Born" . masonrytoday.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^
"Today in Masonic History – Clarendon Lamb Worrell is Born" . masonrytoday.com . Retrieved 2017-06-10 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Masonic Membership Stats" . msana.com . Retrieved 2018-10-24 .
^
a
b
"Brief History" . Prince Hall Ontario. Retrieved 2013-05-22 .
^
"Craft Lodges" . Prince Hall Ontario. Retrieved 2013-05-01 .
^
a
b
c
d Reference:
GLs Information
^
"Loges symboliques – Craft Lodges" . GLQ. Retrieved 2013-05-14 .
^
"PEI Constituent Lodges" . GLPEI. Archived from
the original on 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2013-05-15 .
^
"Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan" . GLS. Retrieved 2013-05-15 .
^
"Membership Statistics (as of 2019)" . GLBC and YT. Retrieved 2019-07-16 .
^
"Lodges – Grand Lodge of Alberta" . Grand Lodge of Alberta . Retrieved 2018-10-24 .
^
"Le Droit Humain au Canada" . Loge Delta. Retrieved 2017-10-20 .
^
"Lodges" . GOdQ. Retrieved 2023-04-27 .
^
"Lodges Reaa" . GLNC. Retrieved 2013-05-01 .
^
"Logias Jurisdiccionadas" . GLLEdC. Retrieved 2013-05-01 .
^
District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador
External links