Canada

 Canada
From top, left to right: Bahá’í shrine in Montreal; the NSA of Canada elected in 2010; performers marking the Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh in Vancouver; the first independent NSA of Canada, 1948; and the Toronto regional conference, 2009.
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Location of Canada
National Office Markham, Ontario
National AssemblyCanada
 -  Elected members Deloria Bighorn
 -    Ciprian Jauca
 -    Karen McKye
 -    Mehran Anvari
 -    Hoda Farahmandpour
 -    Gerald Filson
 -    Judy Filson
 -    Zelalem Bimrew Kasse
 -    Élizabeth Wright
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 38,155,012
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source 35,000 
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 63,710
Clusters 136
Local Assemblies 255
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Bahá'í Edith Magee 
 -  Local Assembly Dec. 10, 1922, Montreal 
 -  National Assembly 1925, with United States
1948, independently 
 -  National Convention April, 1948 
How to contact:
 -  Phone See here 
 -  Email info [at] ca.bahai.org
 -  Address 7200 Leslie Street
Thornhill Ontario
L3T 6L8 
Official Website http://www.ca.bahai.org/
Atlas    Related media
Categories: Canada • People

Canada is a country located in the continent of North America, and the second largest country in the world by size, reaching from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic in the East, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to its border with the United States in the south. Canada’s Bahá’í community has played a prominent role in the unfoldment of the Bahá’í Faith: it is one of the "co-inheritors" of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Divine Plan;[2] its National Spiritual Assembly acted as one of the twelve protagonists of the Ten Year Crusade; and it has been noted for its "distinctive contribution" to the spread of the Faith through pioneering.[3]

The beginnings of the Bahá’í community of Canada date from 1898 when Edith Magee, a youth from London, Ontario, became the first Canadian believer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the Canadian city of Montreal during His journey to North America in 1912, where the country's first Bahá’í group was formed in 1902, and its first Local Spiritual Assembly would later be founded. He stayed in the home of May and William Sutherland Maxwell during his visit, which is now preserved as the only Bahá’í Shrine outside of the Middle East. Their daughter, Mary, would later marry the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi.

The Canadian Bahá’í community lists its current membership at 30,000.[4] Main population centres in Canada include Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.

History[edit]

The first North American woman to declare herself a Bahá’í was Mrs. Kate C. Ives, of Canadian ancestry, though not living in Canada at the time. The honor of being the first Canadian to accept the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh fell to Edith Magee, a young woman living in London, Ontario, in 1898. Shortly thereafter, in 1902, the first Canadian Bahá’í group was formed in Montreal by May and William Maxwell.

William Sutherland Maxwell was a well-known Canadian architect. He designed such Canadian landmarks as the Château Frontenac Tower in Quebec City, the Legislative Assembly Building in Regina, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Church of the Messiah, and many fine residences in Montreal. His wife, May Maxwell, was one of the early Western Bahá’ís when William Sutherland Maxwell met her in Paris in the 1890s. Their daughter, Mary Maxwell, was later to take the name Rúḥíyyih Khánum upon her marriage to the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

In 1912, the small band of believers that formed around the Maxwells had the honor of receiving ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during his tour of North America. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's addresses at the Church of the Messiah and St. James Methodist Church, at the Trades Union headquarters on St. Lawrence Street, and at the Maxwell's home on Pine Avenue attracted widespread attention from both the press and the public. His talks touched on subjects of economic justice, world peace, and social cohesion. The Maxwell home where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed is today the only Bahá’í Shrine in the western hemisphere.

Following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit to Canada, one by one, small Bahá’í communities took root in major urban centres and then in towns and villages throughout the country. Today, there are over 260 organized Bahá’í communities in all parts of Canada, with elected administrative institutions, called Local Spiritual Assemblies, supporting them. Bahá’ís live in 1200 localities in Canada. Membership represents a cross-section of Canada's population in general, although nearly one-sixth of the elected Assemblies are on Indian reserves.

Among the Canadians that were attracted to the Bahá’í Faith in its first few decades here were Montreal industrialist Siegfried Schopflocher, prominent Toronto business executive John Robarts, and Royal Ontario Museum curator George Spendlove.[5]

Canada in the Divine Plan[edit]

'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote of His travels to Canada in The Tablets of the Divine Plan, encouraging the Canadian believers to arise and contribute to fulfilling the goals of the Divine Plan through pioneering, and stating that "the future of Canada, whether from a material or a spiritual standpoint, is very great. Day by day civilization and freedom shall increase. The clouds of the Kingdom will water the seeds of guidance which have been sown there."[6] He particularly expressed His hope that "in the future Montreal may become so stirred, that the melody of the Kingdom may travel to all parts of the world from that Dominion and the breaths of the Holy Spirit may spread from that centre to the East and the West of America."[6] In one of the Tablets, addressed to the Bahá'ís of Canada and Greenland, He exhorted the believers to "become self-sacrificing and like unto the candles of guidance become ignited," urging them to promote the divine teachings in the provinces of Canada, "such as Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Ungava, Keewatin, Mackenzie, Yukon, and the Franklin Islands in the Arctic Circle"[7].

Inhabitants of Northern Canada[edit]

'Abdu'l-Bahá made specific mention of the Inuit ("eskimo") people, expressing His wish that "the call of the Kingdom may reach the ears of the... inhabitants of the Islands of Franklin in the north of Canada"[8], and exhorting the believers to expend "the utmost effort" in bringing the divine teachings to the North. "Should you display an effort," He writes, "so that the fragrances of God may be diffused among the Eskimos, its effect will be very great and far-reaching."[8], specifically asking that teachers be dispatched to "the home of the Eskimos"[9]. Of the effect that would result from teaching the inhabitants of Northern Canada, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asserted that

...if the hearts be touched with the heat of the love of God, that territory [Northern Canada and Greenland] will become a divine rose garden and a heavenly paradise, and the souls, even as fruitful trees, will acquire the utmost freshness and beauty. Effort, the utmost effort, is required. Should you display an effort, so that the fragrances of God may be diffused among the Eskimos, its effect will be very great and far-reaching. God says in the great Qur’án: A day will come wherein the lights of unity will enlighten all the world. "The earth will be irradiated with the light of its Lord." In other words, the earth will become illumined with the light of God. That light is the light of unity. "There is no God but God." The continent and the islands of Eskimos are also parts of this earth. They must similarly receive a portion of the bestowals of the Most Great Guidance.[8]

Administration[edit]

The affairs of the Bahá’í community of Canada are administered at the national level by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada, on the regional level by several Regional Councils, and on the local level by individual Local Spiritual Assemblies.

Based in Toronto, the National Spiritual Assembly oversees and coordinates a number of offices and committees, including ones for public affairs and discourse, teaching, Bahá’í funds, social and economic development, and more.

Regional Bahá’í Councils have been established in several regions of Canada, each comprising one or more provinces or territories: These include B.C and Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan-Manitoba-Northern Ontario (SNOMAN), Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic, and North Regional Bahá’í Councils.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of Canada, Naw-Rúz 1986; published as "First World-wide Teaching Plan in the Fourth Epoch of the Formative Age". Bahá'í Canada. Vol. 8, no. 3. May 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Message from the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada, 15 January 1991; quoted in "Canadian Bahai News". bahai.works. No. 4. National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Canada. August 1991 / Kamal-Asmá, 148 BE. Retrieved 25 December 2021. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ The Bahá’í Community of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
  5. ↑ http://www.ca.bahai.org/main.cfm?sid=41
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, (Wilmette: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1993), p. 95.
  7. ↑ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, (Wilmette: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1993), p. 27
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, (Wilmette: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1993), p. 28
  9. ↑ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, (Wilmette: US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1993), p. 96.

External links[edit]

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