Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada

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Date 1949-0, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1949 11 Aug The first public meeting ever held in Quebec City with Mrs. Hilda Yen Male as the speaker. Publicity was obtained in four newspapers, and a radio inter· view was arranged during which direct questions about the Faith were asked. [BN No 226 December 1949 106BE p9] Proclamation; Hilda Yen; Québec City, QC first public meeting in Québec City
1949 19 Jun Shoghi Effendi, in a letter to the new National Spiritual Assembly made first mention of a Hazlratu'l-Quds and a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Canada when he wrote:
    "The development of the local and national Funds must be continuously maintained as a prelude to the establishment of local and national endowments and the ultimate erection of a House of Worship that will incarnate the soul of a flourishing nation-wide community." [MtC114]
Haziratul-Quds (Bahá'í centres); * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship)
1949 12 Jun The tenth Annual International Picnic held at Queenston with 250 attending. Visitors from the United States, India, Trinidad, Barbadoes, and England were present to hear talks by Mrs. Edith MacLaren aod John Howe. [BN No 224 October 1949 p10] International Bahá'í Picnic; Edith MacLaren; John Howe; Queenston Heights, ON
1949 May The annual budget for 106B.E. was set at $15,000. [CBN 14 July 1950 p2] Annual budget
1949 30 Apr The Bill to incorporate the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada was passed by both Houses of the Canadian Parliament, and given Royal assent. The act established the name, named the officers as directors, stated the location of the headquarters, defined the objectives, gave it the right to manage the affairs of the Bahá'ís, to make by-laws and to hold property. It was used as a model for registration/incorporation in other states.

  • The pdf for the Act can be found here.
  • The National Spiritual Assembly members at that time were John Aldham Robarts, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, manager; Emeric Sala, of the city of St. Lambert, province of Quebec, manufacturer; Dame Laura Romney Davis, wife of Victor Davis of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario; Siegfried Schopflocher, of the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, manufacturer; Rowland Ardouin Estall, of the city of Montreal, province of Quebec, insurance broker; Ross Greig Woodman, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, lecturer; Lloyd George Gardner, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario, wholesaler; and Dame Doris Cecilia Richardson, wife of J. P. Richardson, of the city of Toronto, province of Ontario; and Dame Rosemarv Scott Sala, wife of the said Emeric Sala, of the city of St. Lambert, province Corporate of Quebec.
  • See Shoghi Effendi's letter of 19 June, 1949 for his comments.
      "an event twice hailed by Shoghi Effendi in the documents published here as "a magnificent victory unique in the annals of East and West". [MtCpvii]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, incorporation; Recognition (legal); National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Ottawa, ON
    1949 Ridván The second Canadian Bahá'í National Convention was held in Winnipeg, at Girl Guide House on Osborne Street North. The Winnipeg Bahá'í Community was by then one of seventeen Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada. A Public Congress in association with the Convention was held in the Art Gallery in the Civic Auditorium.

    An address entitled "Consultation - An Adventure in Mature Discussion" was delivered by Elsie Austin. [CBN No 18 March 1951 p6]

    In nine years Winnipeg had gone from a Bahá'í goal to the host of the Bahá'í Community of Canada for its National Convention. At that time it had the highest rate of annual growth in the Bahá'í Community of Canada, suggesting a vitality not found in but few other communities. About one quarter of the new converts between 1937 and 1947 went pioneering. [Bloodworth, Grains of Wheat p20; OBCC207-210]

    National Convention; Winnipeg, MB the first National Convention in Winnipeg.
    1949 Apr Find details of the National Convention and election.

    An address entitled "Consultation - An Adventure in Mature Discussion" was delivered by Elsie Austin. [CBN No 18 March 1951 p6]

    National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Elsie Austin
    1949 Jan (Late) Jim and Melba Loft and their children, Sam, Arthur and Evelyn returned to Tyendinaga First Nation from Marysville Michigan. [RT43]
  • The first to respond to their teaching was a white couple, Bert and Elizabeth Curtis. [CBN 15 September 1950 p8-9]
  • Later Melba Loft became the first woman ever to he nominated as a candidate for election to the Indian Council (First Nation Council) of the Tyendinaga Reserve (Tyendinaga First Nation). [CBN No49 Feb 1954 p5]
  • Evelyn Loft was officially commended by the government agent for the honour she has brought to the reserve by her excellent standing at Belleville Collegiate Institute. [CBN No49 Feb 1954 p5]
  • Jim Loft; Melba Loft; Sam Loft; Arthur Loft; Evelyn Loft; Tyendinaga First Nation, ON
    1949 (In the year) Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed in Calgary and Veron, the 16th and 17th to be established. [CBN No 46 November, 1953 p2] Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Calgary, AB; Vernon, BC

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