Roman Catholicism in Canada

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The Catholic Church in Canada is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. As of 2008, it has the largest number of adherents to a religion in Canada, with 46% of Canadians (13.07 million) baptized as Catholics. There are 72 dioceses and about 8,000 priests in Canada.

History

Catholicism arrived in Canada in 1497, when John Cabot landed on Newfoundland and raised the Venetian and Papal banners and claimed the land for his sponsor King Henry VII of England, while recognizing the religious authority of the Roman Catholic Church.^[1] A letter of John Day states that Cabot landed on 24 June 1497 and "went ashore with a crucifix and raised banners bearing the arms of the Holy Father". In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded the first Catholic colony in Quebec City. Later, in 1611, he established a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal, which later became a Catholic colony for trade and missionary activity.

In 1620, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore purchased a tract of land in Newfoundland from Sir William Vaughan and established a colony, calling it Avalon, after the legendary spot where Christianity was introduced to Britain.^[2] In 1627 Calvert brought two Roman Catholic priests to Avalon. This was the first continuous Roman Catholic ministry in British North America. Despite the severe religious conflicts of the period, Calvert secured the right of Catholics to practice their religion unimpeded in Newfoundland, and embraced the novel principle of religious tolerance, which he wrote into the Charter of Avalon and the later Charter of Maryland. The Colony of Avalon was thus the first North American jurisdiction to practice religious tolerance.^[3]

Population

The Roman Catholic population in Canada in 2001^[4] and 2011.^[5]

Province	2001	2011	% Change 2001-2011	% 2001	% 2011
Quebec	5,939,715	5,766,750	-2.9%	83.4%	74.5%
Ontario	3,911,760	3,948,975	+1.0%	34.7%	31.2%
Alberta	786,360	850,355	+8.1%	26.7%	23.8%
British Columbia	675,320	679,310	+0.6%	17.5%	15.0%
New Brunswick	386,050	366,000	-5.2%	53.6%	49.7%
Nova Scotia	328,700	297,655	-9.4%	36.6%	32.8%
Manitoba	323,690	294,495	-9.0%	29.3%	25.0%
Saskatchewan	305,390	287,190	-6.0%	31.7%	28.5%
Newfoundland and Labrador	187,440	181,550	-3.1%	36.9%	35.8%
Prince Edward Island	63,265	58,880	-6.9%	47.4%	42.9%
Northwest Territories	16,990	15,755	-7.2%	45.8%	38.7%
Nunavut	6,215	7,580	+22.0%	23.3%	23.9%
Yukon	6,015	6,095	+1.3%	21.1%	18.3%
Canada	12,936,905	12,728,885	-1.6%	43.6%	38.7%

The Catholic population underwent its first recorded drop between 2001 and 2011. Notable trends include the de-Catholicization of Quebec, a drop in the Catholic population in small provinces with stagnant populations, and a rise in Catholics in the large English-speaking provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. Canada also receives immigration from Catholic countries, most notably the Philippines, which has kept the Catholic population from dropping in some provinces.

Organization

Within Canada the hierarchy consists of:

• Archbishopric
  • Bishopric

There is also a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, which has suffragan dioceses in Edmonton, New Westminster, Saskatoon, and Toronto.

There are also four other eparchies in Canada:

• The Eparchy of Saint-Maron de Montréal (Maronite)
• The Eparchy of Saint-Sauveur de Montréal (Melkite)
• The Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto (Slovakian)
• The Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto (Chaldean)

There is a Military Ordinariate of Canada for Canadian military personnel.

See also

• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Canada
• List of Canadian Roman Catholic saints
• Catholic sisters and nuns in Canada
• Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Further reading

• Fay, Terence J. A History of Canadian Catholics: Gallicanism, Romanism, and Canadianism (2002) excerpt and text search
• Johnston, Angus Anthony. A History of the Catholic Church in Eastern Nova Scotia; Volume I: 1611- 1827 (1960)
• Lahey, Raymond J. The First Thousand Years: A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Canada (2002)
• Morice, A G. History Of The Catholic Church In Western Canada: From Lake Superior To The Pacific (1659–1895) (2 vol; reprint Nabu Press, 2010)
• Murphy, Terrence, and Gerald Stortz, eds, Creed and Culture: The Place of English-Speaking Catholics in Canadian Society, 1750 – 1930 (1993)

References

Roman Catholic dioceses in Canada Ecclesiastical Province of Edmonton Archdiocese of Edmonton Diocese of Calgary Diocese of Saint Paul, Alberta Ecclesiastical Province of Gatineau Archdiocese of Gatineau Diocese of Amos Diocese of Mont-Laurier Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda Ecclesiastical Province of Grouard-McLennan Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese of Whitehorse Ecclesiastical Province of Halifax Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth Diocese of Antigonish Diocese of Charlottetown Ecclesiastical Province of Keewatin-Le Pas Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson Diocese of Moosonee Ecclesiastical Province of Kingston Archdiocese of Kingston Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall Diocese of Peterborough Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie Ecclesiastical Province of Moncton Archdiocese of Moncton Diocese of Bathurst Diocese of Edmundston Diocese of Saint John, New Brunswick Ecclesiastical Province of Montréal Archdiocese of Montréal Diocese of Joliette Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil Diocese of Saint-Jérôme Diocese of Valleyfield Ecclesiastical Province of Ottawa Archdiocese of Ottawa Diocese of Hearst Diocese of Pembroke Diocese of Timmins Ecclesiastical Province of Québec Archdiocese of Québec Diocese of Chicoutimi Diocese of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière Diocese of Trois-Rivières Ecclesiastical Province of Regina Archdiocese of Regina Diocese of Prince Albert Diocese of Saskatoon Ecclesiastical Province of Rimouski Archdiocese of Rimouski Diocese of Baie-Comeau Diocese of Gaspé Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Boniface Archdiocese of Saint Boniface Ecclesiastical Province of St. John's Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador Diocese of Grand Falls Ecclesiastical Province of Sherbrooke Archdiocese of Sherbrooke Diocese of Nicolet Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto Archdiocese of Toronto Diocese of Hamilton Diocese of London Diocese of Saint Catharines Diocese of Thunder Bay Ecclesiastical Province of Vancouver Archdiocese of Vancouver Diocese of Kamloops Diocese of Nelson Diocese of Prince George Diocese of Victoria Ecclesiastical Metropolia of Winnipeg Archeparchy of Winnipeg Eparchy of Edmonton Eparchy of New Westminster Eparchy of Saskatoon Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada Sui iuris Jurisdictions Archdiocese of Winnipeg Military Ordinariate of Canada Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint-Maron de Montréal Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Saint-Sauveur de Montréal Slovakian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto

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