Orange Order in Canada
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The Orange Order in Canada played an important role in the history of Canada, especially since 1830 when the grand Orange Lodge of British North America was established (this was date is often given as the beginning of Canadian Orangeism, however there is evidence of Orangeism earlier in Canada, with definite records of Orangemen involved in the War of 1812). Most early members of the Orange Institution were from Ireland, but later many English, Scots, and other Protestant Europeans joined the Order. There are also Mohawk Lodges in Ontario.
Four members have been Prime Ministers of Canada, namely Sir John A. Macdonald, the father of Canadian Confederation, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, a Past Grand Master, Sir John Abbott, and John Diefenbaker. At least one half of the Newfoundland diplomats who negotiated the Terms of Union between Newfoundland and Canada in 1947 were members of the Orange Lodge: Joseph Smallwood, P.W. Crummey and F.G. Bradley; Newfoundland is often described as the most Irish place outside Ireland, see article Irish Newfoundlanders).
It was the chief social institution in Upper Canada (today's southern Ontario) and organized many community and benevolent activities. It also helped Protestant immigrants to settle. The Order remained a predominant political force in southern Ontario well into the twentieth century. A notable exception to Orange predominance occurred in London, Ontario, where Catholic and Protestant Irish formed a non-sectarian Irish society in 1877.
The Orange Order played an important role in the crisis over the 1885 trial of Louis Riel for treason. The Canadian prime minister of the day, Sir John A. Macdonald, is believed to have refused to commute Riel's death sentence because he calculated that there were more Orange votes to be got by hanging Riel than there were Quebec votes to be got by sparing him. He is famously quoted as saying "Riel must die though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour."
The Orange Order became a central facet of life in Ontario, especially in the business centre of Toronto where many deals and relationships were forged at the lodge.
The Orange Lodge was, and remains, a center for community activity in Newfoundland. For example, in 1903 Sir William Coaker founded the Fisherman's Protective Union (F.P.U.) in an Orange Hall in Herring Neck. Furthermore, during the term of Commission of Government (1934-1949), the Orange Lodge was one of only a handful of "democratic" organizations that existed in the Dominion of Newfoundland.
In 1913, the Orange Association of Manitoba volunteered a regiment to fight with the Ulster Volunteer Force against the British government were Home Rule to be introduced to Ireland.
Below is a portion of an address by H.C. Hocken, Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of British America, given to the delegates in attendance at the 89th annual sessions held at St. George's Parish Hall in Ottawa, Ontario from July, 30, 1919 - August 1, 1919, the first session held after the end of World War I
"As an Order we have proved our loyalty to the King and our patriotism to our country, our Empire, and to the sacred cause of human liberty. We have given a demonstration of service and sacrifice which can never be blotted from the record of the Great War. It stands - and will stand forever - as an answer to every calumny that may be levelled at our loyal institution. Thousands of our best and noblest members sleep their last sleep in the soil of France and Belgium.*
"Their names liveth evermore." Their memories will be enshrined in our hearts, their names will be inscribed on imperishable bronze and marble, and the remembrance of their gallant deeds will be cherished by us, and become the inheritance of Orangemen yet unborn. It is for us who are left to carry on the work of our Association, to meet our tasks with the same unflinching courage that they exhibited, and show ourselves worthy of the gallant men who gave their lives to preserve our liberties.
Those who have gone through the awful conflict, who endured till the end and are now returned to resume their places in the life of Canada, will receive from all true Orangemen the affection and consideration that they so richly deserve. They have a claim upon us made sacred by their wounds and broken bodies. That claim will be recognized. Added to the fraternal bonds that bind our brotherhood is the solemn obligation to stand by them, and with them, as long as they live."
The Orange Institution can claim many historical figures amongst its ranks. Orangeman Alexander James Muir (Ontario LOL 142) wrote both the music and lyrics to the Canadian Patriotic Song "The Maple Leaf Forever" in 1867 (contrary to popular belief, this song was never the national anthem of Canada. It was considered for the role in the 1960s, but ultimately rejected primarily on grounds of verses which were considered hostile to French Canadians). He was also a soldier in the Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto and was involved in fighting and defeating the Fenians at Ridgeway, Ontario in 1866. An obelisk there marks the spot where Orangemen died in defending the colony against an attack by members of Clan na Gael (commonly known as Fenians).
Orangemen played a big part in suppressing the Upper Canada rebellion of William Lyon Mackenzie in 1837. Though the rebellion was but a skirmish and short-lived, nevertheless, 317 Orangemen were sworn in to the local militia by the Mayor of Toronto and then resisted Mackenzie's march down Yonge Street in 1837. Orangemen in western Canada helped suppress the rebellions of Louis Riel in 1870 and 1885.
The call to arms by Bro. Sir Samuel Hughes, the Canadian Minister for War and member of LOL 557 Lindsay Ontario, resulted in some 80,000 members from Canada volunteering.
After 1945, the Canadian Orange Order rapidly declined in membership and political clout. The development of the welfare state made its fraternal society functions less important. A more important cause of the decline was the secularization of Canadian society: with fewer Canadians attending churches of any sort, the old division between Protestant and Catholic seemed less relevant.
