Canada

From Bahaikipedia

Canada
Canada, geo-political divisions shown.
National Office		Markham, Ontario
National Assembly		Canada
-	Chairman	Susanne Tamas
-	Vice Chairman	Borna Noureddin
-	Secretary	Karen McKye
-	Assist. Secretary	Judy Filson
-	Treasurer	Fariborz Sahba
-	Member	Gordon Naylor
-	Member	David Smith
-	Member	Enayat Rawhani
-	Member	Mark Wedge
Statistics:
Number of Bahá'ís
-	Bahá'í source	30,000
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/

The Bahá'í Community of Canada dates from 1898 when Edith Magee, a youth from London, Ontario, became the first Canadian member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1902 the first Bahá'í group was formed by May and William Sutherland Maxwell in Montreal. The Canadian Bahá'í community lists its current membership at 30,000.^[1] Main population centres in Canada include Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.

1 History
2 See also
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

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.

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.^[2]