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date	event	locations	tags	see also
1866. 1 Dec	Birth of Marion Jack, prominent Bahá'í travel teacher, pioneer and artist, known affectionately as ‘General jack' for her services to the Bahá'í community, in Saint John, New Brunswick. LDG1:217 for information on her pioneer work.	Saint John; New Brunswick; Canada	Marion Jack; Births and deaths
1874 14 Nov	Birth of William Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, in Montreal.	Montreal; Canada	Sutherland Maxwell; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths
1901 2 Nov	Birth of John Robarts, Hand of the Cause of God, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.	Waterloo; Ontario; Canada	John Robarts; Births and deaths
1902 (In the year)	Bahá'í groups were established in Canada and in the Hawaiian Islands. [BBRSM:106-7; BFA2:160; SBBH1:135]	Canada; Hawaii	First Bahais by country or area
1902 8 May	May Bolles married Sutherland Maxwell in London and moved to Montreal later in the year. [BW8:635; GPB260, BFA2:156 ]	London; United Kingdom; Montreal; Canada	May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell
1907 (In the year)	It was estimated that there were from 1,000 to 1,100 believers in North America by this date, with about 12 believers in Montreal and six Bahá'ís in other localities in Canada. [BFA2:230]	United States; Montreal; Canada	Statistics
1909 (In the year)	Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, became a Bahá'í. [BFA2:156] In the same year he was married to May Bolles. [WMSH16-17]	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Sutherland Maxwell; Hands of the Cause
1909 21 Mar	On the same day as the interment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. [BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3; SBBH1:146] It was held in the home of Corinne True. [CT82–3] It was attended by 39 delegates from 36 cities. [GPB262; SBBH1:146] The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146] iiiii	Chicago; United States; Canada	Conventions, National; Corinne True; Bahai Temple Unity; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; First conventions; National Spiritual Assembly; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship)
1912 (In the year)	There were about two dozen Bahá'ís in Canada by this year. [BFA2:158]	Canada	Statistics
1912 30 Aug	`Abdu'l-Bahá left Malden for Boston. He left Boston by train for Montreal, arriving at midnight. [239D:132; AB132; BW8:637] He stayed in Montreal for ten days, living for four nights at the Maxwell residence. [239D:132] See also `Abdu'l-Bahá in Canada.	Malden; Boston; Montreal; Canada	Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Trains; Maxwell residence; Montreal Shrine; Abdul-Baha in Montreal; May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell
1912 1 Sep	'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk at the Church of the Messiah, corner of Simpson and Sherbrooke Sts in Montreal. (Architects: The Maxwell Bros. Built 1907, destroyed by fire 1937) [PUP297] Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell, 716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP302] Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell, 716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP306]	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Abdul-Baha, Talks at churches; Abdul-Baha, Talks at homes; May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell; Abdul-Baha in Montreal
1912 2 Sep	Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell, 716 Pine Avenue West, (now 1548 avenue des Pins, ouest) Montreal, Canada. [PUP308]	Montreal; Canada	Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Abdul-Baha, Talks at homes; May Maxwell (Bolles); Sutherland Maxwell; Abdul-Baha in Montreal
1912 5 Sep	Talk at St. James Methodist Church, 463 Saint Catherine Street, West, Montreal, Canada. [PUP312] See the film Abdu'l-Bahá in Canada.	Montreal; Canada	Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Abdul-Baha, Talks at churches; Abdul-Baha in Montreal
1912 9 Sep	`Abdu'l-Bahá was taken to the Grand Trunk Railway station where departed Montreal on His way to Buffalo arrived in Buffalo by train from Montreal. [239D:139; AB265]	Montreal; Canada; Buffalo	Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Trains; Abdul-Baha in Montreal
1915 (In the year)	A plan to fund part-time travelling Bahá’í teachers in the USA and Canada was approved. There had been a great deal of reluctance to take this measure for fear of creating a "clergy" class but the vastness of the country and the fewness of believers of independent means as well as the impetus to teaching sparked by 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit helped to take the decision. [BBRSM:105, 219]	United States; Canada	Subsidies; Funds; Travel teaching
1916. Oct	The North American Bahá'í community began a teaching campaign aiming to teach the Faith in the many states named in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and Montreal was designated the centre of the Northern Territory of the Campaign, which was assigned the responsibility of teaching the Faith in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Mackenzie, Keewatin, Ungava, Franklin Island, and Greenland .[SoW Vol 7 No 12 16 October 1916 p112]	Montreal; Canada	Tablets of the Divine Plan
1922 Apr	Shoghi Effendi sent verbal messages through Consul Schwarz to Germany and Ethel Rosenberg to Britain to form local spiritual assemblies and to arrange for the election of a national spiritual assembly in each country. [CB293; ER209, 211-12; PP56]	Germany; United Kingdom; United States; Canada	Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Consuls; Albert Schwarz; Ethel Rosenberg; National Spiritual Assemblies; Local Spiritual Assemblies; Spiritual Assemblies; Executive Board
1922 10 Dec	The first local assembly of Montreal was formed. [BW8:639, OBCC157, TG26]	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Local Spiritual Assembly
1925 Dec	A Plan of Unified Action to Spread the Bahá'í Cause Throughout the United States and Canada January 1, 1926-December 31, 1928 was formulated by The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada in response to Shoghi Effendi's message to the annual National Convention. [BA86-89] It can be found at [Plan] The goals were (1) to unify the American Bahá'í community's efforts, (2) to increase the number of Bahá'ís, (3) to "penetrate the consciousness of the public with the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh", and (4) to raise $400,000 so that the construction of the first unit of the Temple's superstructure could begin. [SBBR14p160, BFA1p110] This was the first of two Plans developed by the North American National Assembly in the years from 1926 to 1934 the second being "A New Plan of Unified Action To complete the Bahá'í Temple and promote the Cause in America (1931-1934)". [SBBR14p155-197] The article referenced above found in Bahá’ís in the West SBBR vol 14 titled The Plans of Unified Action: A Survey by Loni Bramson, can also be found on Bahá’í-Library.com. The above two plans were the first to have the expansion and development of the Bahá'í community as a primary goal and it is likely that they provided the model for other plans organized by Shoghi Effendi and other National Assemblies. [SBBR14p155] The first Plan of Unified Action indicates the ascendancy of those Bahá'ís who supported a centralizing authority over those who wanted a more amorphous system or no organization at all.[BiW177-8] For an essay on this subject see "Some Aspects of the Establishment of the Guardianship" by Dr Loni Bramson-Lerche in SBBR5p253-293 During the years of these two plans the National Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada developed practices commonly used in subsequent plans, organized propagation, a central budget and the modern form of the Nineteen Day Feast. [SBBR14p160]	United States; Canada	Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
1926 (In the year)	Green Acre came under the direct supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [GAP118] Canadian Bahá'is played a significant role in redeeming the debts of Green Acre to prepare for its transference to trustees for the benefit of the National Spiritual Assembly. It became the first Bahá'í School to be legally placed under Bahá'í administrative authority in North America. [CBN 82 November, 1956 p2]	Eliot; Maine; United States; Canada	Green Acre; National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada
1927 8 Jan	The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed seven people to a National Race Unity Committee. [SBR94; TMW166] For the functions and challenges faced by the committee see TMW165–72.	United States; Canada	National Spiritual Assembly; Race (general); Race Unity; Race Amity
1927 29 Apr - 1 May	The third National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the hotel where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed during His visit in 1912. [Bahá'í News No. 17 April, 1927] It was attended by 32 of the 95 elected delegates, others voting "by wire". Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Allen McDaniel, chairman; Roy C. Wilhelm, vice-chairman; Horace Holley, secretary; Carl Scheffler, treasurer: Mesdames Florence R. Moron, May Maxwell and Amelia Collins, Messrs. Alfred E. Lunt and Louis G. Gregory. This reference contains a very complete report of the Convention including letters from the Guardian. [BN No 18 June 1927 p2-9] See FMH41-42. A major subject of which was race relations. Edwina Powell spoke on the subject, as she had been asked by Shoghi Effendi. In her address, Sadie Oglesby recalled her conversations with Shoghi Effendi on the subject of race. [TMW178–80]	Montreal; Quebec; Canada; United States	Conventions, National; Allen McDaniel; Roy C. Wilhelm; Horace Holley; Carl Scheffler; Florence R. Moron; May Maxwell (Bolles); Amelia Collins; Alfred Lunt; Louis Gregory; Edwina Powell; Sadie Oglesby
1927 May	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a ‘Declaration of Trust’ and ‘By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly’. [BW2:89, BW10:180] For text see BW2:90–8. The Guardian described it as the Bahá’í ‘national constitution’ heralding ‘the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá’í World Community’. [GPB335; PP302–3] The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234] In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]	United States; Canada	National Spiritual Assembly; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Constitutions (Bahai); By-laws; Recognition (legal); Firsts, Other
1928 11 - 12 Feb	The ‘Conference for Inter-Racial Amity' was arranged by Inter-Racial Amity Committee of the Bahá’ís of Montreal’. There were three sessions in three venues: the YMCA, Channing Hall, and the Union Congregational Church. Speakers included Louis Gregory (‘International Lecturer on Race Relations’) and Agnes MacPhail, first Canadian woman Member of Parliament. [The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck page 34, Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011, BW7p660] See BW6p659-664 for the essay by Louis Gregory entitled "Racial Likenesses and Differences: The Scientific Evidence and the Bahá'í Teachings". Date conflict: "The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 by Will C. van den Hoonaard on page 90 says: "and on 2-4 March 1930 The Montreal Bahá'ís held Race Amity meeting." His source was the National Bahá'í Archives Canada, Notes on Montreal Bahá'í History. SYH147 confirms the conference in Montréal was in "mid-February".	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Agnes MacPhail; Louis Gregory
1929 16 Mar	In December of 1925 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of United States and Canada adopted the "Unified Plan of Action" and among the resolutions was to raise some $400,000 over the following three years to construct the first unit of the superstructure of the Temple. By the end of 1926 only $51,000 had been collected and the following year was just as disappointing. At the National Convention in 1928 Fred Schopflocher's donation of $25,000 inspired contributions and the Fund rose to about $87,000 by March 1929. On this day Fred and Lorol Schopflocher contributed a further $100,000. [LoF388-389, SETPE1p162-163] See May 1937 for another contribution of $100,000 from the Schopflochers.	Montreal; Canada; Wilmette; United States	Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Fred Schopflocher; Lorol Schopflocher; Unified Plan of Action; Funds
1931	There were still only 30 Bahá’ís in Canada by this date. [BBRSM186]	Canada	Statistics
1933. 21 Apr	In his letter titled "America and the Most Great Peace written this day, Shoghi Effendi described the progress of the growth of the Faith in America as falling into four distinct periods: (1893–1903), characterized by a process of slow and steady fermentation, may be said to have culminated in the historic pilgrimages undertaken by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s American disciples to the shrine of Bahá’u’lláh. (1903–1913), so full of the tests and trials which agitated, cleansed and energized the body of the earliest pioneers of the Faith in that land, had as their happy climax ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s memorable visit to America. (1913–1923), a period of quiet and uninterrupted consolidation, had as its inevitable result the birth of that divinely-appointed Administration, the foundations of which the Will of a departed Master had unmistakably established. (1923–1933), distinguished throughout by further internal development, as well as by a notable expansion of the international activities of a growing community, witnessed the completion of the superstructure of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—the Administration’s mighty bulwark, the symbol of its strength and the sign of its future glory. [WOB80] "In 1933 he gave the North American Bahá'ís America and the Most Great Peace, which dealt largely with the role this part of the world has been destined by God to play during this period in history, recalled the self-sacrificing journeys and services of the Master in the West and recapitulated the victories already won for the Faith by this favoured Community." [PP213] "In America and the Most Great Peace written in 1933, Shoghi Effendi states America's position in unmistakable terms: out of the anguish following the Master's passing, he wrote, "the Administration of Bahá'u'lláh's invincible Faith was born". The ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá released "potent energies" which "crystallized into this supreme, this infallible Organ for the accomplishment of a Divine Purpose." The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá had set forth its character and provisions, America had espoused the cause of the Administration: "It was given to her, and to her alone,...to become the fearless champion of that Administration, the pivot of its new-born institutions and the leading promoter of its influence." [PP340-341]	United States; Canada	World Order of Bahaullah (book)
1935 Oct	Shoghi Effendi wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada stating that the laws of fasting, obligatory prayer, the consent of parents before marriage, the avoidance of alcoholic drinks and monogamy should be regarded as universally applicable and binding. [CB313] iiiii	United States; Canada	Laws; Gradual implementation of laws; Kitab-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Obligatory Prayer; alcohol
1937 (In the year)	Mrs Mabel Ives made an extended trip to Moncton, New Brunswick to teach the Faith. She was assisted by Rosemary Sala of St. Lambert. [TG102, 108]	Moncton; New Brunswick; Canada	Travel teaching; Mabel Rice-Wray Ives; Rosemary Sala
1937. 11 Apr	The passing of Dr. Zíá Bagdádí (b. February 9, 1882, Beirut, Lebanon) in Augusta, Georgia. He was buried in Westover Memorial Park, Augusta, Georgia. Dr. Bagdádí attended the American University of Beirut and graduated as a physician. In September 1909, on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s advice, he moved to Chicago to further his medical studies and soon emerged as a pillar of the Chicago Bahá’í community. A major translator of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s tablets into English and the editor of the Persian pages of Star of the West, he accompanied ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on much of His North American travels in 1912. In the year 1929, Dr. Bagdádí wrote a book telling of his birthplace and travels in the Orient under the title, Treasures of the East. He wrote of his experiences in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh as a child. He married Zeenat Khanum who was the daughter of Hasan Aqa Tabrizi, aunt of Ali Nakhjavani who went to the Holy Land to give information relating to the restoration of the house of ‘Abdu’llah Pasha. Zeenat’s sister was Fatimih Khanum (Ali Nakhjavani’s mother) who spent her youth in service to the Greatest Holy Leaf. These two sisters, when they were young girls in ‘Akka, nine and eleven years old, were accepted into the household of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They were married in the first Bahá’í marriage in Montreal, Canada which took place on April 30, 1914. [Bahá'í Chronicles] iiiii	Augusta, Georgia; United States; Beirut; Lebanon; Montreal; Canada	In Memoriam; Zia Bagdadi; Bagdadi family (Baghdadi family); Star of the West; Zeenat Khanum; Hasan Aqa Tabrizi; Fatimih Khanum; Ali Nakhjavani; House of Abdullah Pasha; American University of Beirut; Restoration
1937 Ridván	The First Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) was launched in North America. [BBD180; BBRSM158; BW7:17–18; MA9, 11-12, 87] The Guardian's Seven Year Plan for the American Bahá'ís For the role of individuals, local spiritual assemblies and the National Spiritual Assembly see MA11–12. The Plan called for: the completion of the exterior of the Wilmette Temple. BW7:17–18; PP385] the establishment of a local spiritual assembly in each state and province of the United States and Canada. [PP385] the establishment of a centre in each of the republics of Latin America. [PP385; The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement)p2] This date, the inception of the First Seven Year Plan of the North American Bahá’í community, marked the opening of the First Epoch of the Divine Plan. This epoch concluded with the successful completion of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963. [Epochs of the Formative Age by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice]	United States; Canada	Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1937-1944); Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National; LSA; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Ages and Epochs; Tablets of the Divine Plan
1938 (In the year)	The first native person to become a Bahá’í in Canada, Melba Loft (née Whetung), a Chippewa, accepted the Faith.	Canada	Melba Loft	find reference
1939 (In the year)	Emeric Sala gave a talk in Regina proclaiming the Faith for the first time in Saskatchewan. Regina is one of five cities he visited on this business trip. [TG104]	Regina; Saskatchewan; Canada	Emeric Sala
1940 (In the year)	The Canadian Department of National Defence exempted Bahá’ís from combatant military duty.	Canada	Exemption; Recognition (legal); Armed forces; Military
1944 Ridván	The thirty-sixth National Convention was held in Wilmette and hosted representatives of the Bahá'í communities of Central and South America. Those elected to serve the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: George O. Latimer (Chairman), Allen B. McDaniel (Vice), Horace Holley (Secretary), Louis G. Gregory (Recording Secretary), Roy C. Wilhelm (Treasurer), Dorothy Baker. Amelia E. Collins, Philip G. Sprague, Leroy Ioas. The Assembly appointed Siegfried Schopflocher to serve as the Treasurer of the Canadian Bahá’í Fund. [BN No 169 July 1944 p2; BN No285 Nov 1954 p3-4] Prior to 1944 delegates to the National Convention were chosen from local communities by proportional representation. [BN No 16 March 1927 p1 refers] After this point delegates no longer represented Local Assemblies but were chosen on a provincial (or state) basis. [MA70-71; OBCC157, 174n2] In 1944 there were 35 delegates to the National Convention. iiiii	North America; United States; Canada	Conventions, National; George Latimer; Allen McDaniel; Horace Holley; Louis Gregory; Roy Wilhelm; Dorothy Baker; Amelia Collins; Philip Sprague; Leroy Ioas; Siegfried Schopflocher
1945 20 Oct	Emeric and Rosemary Sala of St. Lambert, Quebec departed on a four month tour of Central and South America. They visited 19 republics and Mr Sala gave seventy-nine talks. They visited many pioneers and paid homage at the grave of May Maxwell at Quilmes, about one hour from Buenos Aires. [TG93-101]	Central America; Latin America; St Lambert; Quebec; Canada	Emeric Sala; Rosemary Sala
1946 Ridván	The Second Seven Year Plan of the United States and Canada (1946-1953) was launched. [BBR180; BBRSM158, 185; MA87-89, MA89] For details of the plan see BW16:81–2. Objectives: Consolidate victories won; Complete interior ornamentation; Form 3 NSAs in Canada, Central and South America; Support spread of Faith into Europe; Supplemental goals to support Africa. [The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement)p2] This marked the end of the First Epoch and the beginning of the Second Epoch of the Formative Age. [CB316; CF5–6] The Second Epoch was marked by the global spread of the Faith and concluded with the election of the Universal House of Justice.	United States; Canada	Second Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1946-1953); Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National; Formative Age; Ages and Epochs
1946 Jun	Rita Marshall, the first person native to St Vincent in the Caribbean to become a Bahá’í, accepted the Faith while in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her husband, Ernest Marshall, became a Bahá’í in November 1946.	St Vincent; Halifax; Nova Scotia; Canada	First Bahais by country or area
1948 Ridván	The newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada launched a Five Year Plan (1948-1953). [Ruhi 8.2 p46; BBRSM158; Letter from Shoghi Effendi dated 14 April. 1948] Some objectives were; - To incorporate the National Spiritual Assembly - To establish national endowments - To increase to thirty the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies - To increase to one hundred the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside - To form a group in Newfoundland - To form a group in Greenland - To enroll (Eskimos) Inuit and (Native Indians) First Nations in the Faith	Canada	Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National
1948 24 - 25 Apr	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Dominion of Canada was established. [BBRSM:186; BW13:856; MBW143; PP397] See BW11:160, 184 for pictures. The first National Convention was held in the Maxwell's home (in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's home as will be the election of the Universal House of Justice some 15 years hence.) with 13/19 delegates from all the provinces attending. (Six were unable to attend due to a flood.) Those elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly were: Laura Davis, Rowland Estall, Lloyd Gardner, Doris Richardson, John Robarts, Emeric Sala, Rosemary Sala, Siegfried Schopflocher, and Ross Woodman. [TG110, OBCC269] For a picture of the first Canadian National Spiritual Assembly see OBCC148.	Canada	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Conventions, National; Laura Davis; Rowland Estall; Lloyd Gardner; Doris Richardson; John Robarts; Emeric Sala; Rosemary Sala; Siegfried Schopflocher; Ross Woodman
1949 30 Apr	An Act to incorporate the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada was passed. 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 Rosemary 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.	Canada	National Spiritual Assembly, Incorporation; National Spiritual Assembly; Firsts, Other; Recognition (legal)
1950 (Early June)	In 1950 Sutherland Maxwell suffered from a severe illness from which he never recovered. He returned to Montreal in early June, 1951. [From CBN undated Memorial Issue]	Haifa; Montreal; Canada	Sutherland Maxwell
1950 Nov	Brian Burland, the first Bermudian to become a Bahá’í, accepted the Faith in Canada.	Canada; Bermuda	First Bahais by country or area
1951 (In the year)	By this year the first Canadian Inuit had become a Bahá’í.	Canada	First Bahais by country or area; First believers by background; Inuit
1952 25 Mar	Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal. He died in the very room that the Master had slept in during His visit to Canada. (b.14 November, 1874) [DH143; MBW132; PP246; CBN undated Memorial Issue] For his obituary see BW12:657–62. Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii] For his relationship with Shoghi Effendi and work on the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb see PP236–43. Shoghi Effendi named the southern door of the Báb’s tomb after him in memory of his services. On June 16th, 1956, friends of the Montreal area gathered at the grave to place, under the headstone, an alabaster box that had been sent by the Guardian. The box contained a piece of plaster taken from the walls of the prison in Máh-Kú where the Báb had been incarcerated in 1847. Another piece of plaster from the same source had been placed under the first golden tile of the dome of the Shrine of the Báb. The superstructure of the Shrine had been designed by Sutherland Maxwell. [TG55; CBN No 80 September 1956 p2] Find a grave. For a brief biography see LoF276-286. The Canadian Bahá'í News published a special Memorial issue.	Montreal; Canada	Sutherland Maxwell; Architects; Fortress of Mah-Ku; Gifts; Relics; Bab, Shrine of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
1953 20 Jun	Shoghi Effendi designated the Maxwell home in Montreal as a Shrine. [MtC179]	Montreal; Canada	Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Montreal Shrine; Maxwell residence; Firsts, Other
1953 27 Jul	Siegfried (Fred) Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal and was buried beside the grave of Sutherland Maxwell in Mount Royal Cemetery. He was born in Landkreis Fürth, Germany 26 September 1877. [BW12:664-666, LOF390, TG119, CBNS 24 July 2014, Bahá'í Chronicles, SCRIBD, Schopflocher, Siegfried (1877–1953) by Will C. van den Hoonaard] Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the second contingent on the 29th of February, 1952. [MoCxxiii] See TG32, 228 and LoF384-390 for short biographies. Bahá'í Encyclopedia for a biography written by Will van den Hoonaard. See Schopflocher, Siegfried by Will C. van den Hoonaard. For his obituary see BW12:664–6. He was known as the “Temple Builder” because of his great contributions to the completion of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West. [BW12:664-666] For a brief biography see Bahá'í Chronicles. Find a grave.	Montreal; Canada	Siegfried Schopflocher; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette
1953 8 Sep	Jameson and Gale Bond arrived in Arctic Bay in the District of Franklin and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:451, SDSC127]	Arctic Bay; Franklin; Canada	Jameson Bond; Gale Bond; Knights of Bahaullah
1953 23 Sep	Ted and Joan Anderson arrived in Whitehorse, Canada, and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for the Yukon. [BW13:457]	Whitehorse; Canada	Knights of Bahaullah; Ted Anderson; Joan Anderson
1953 20 Nov	The formation of the Israel Branch of the Bahá'ís of Canada.	Canada; Israel	Israel Branch of the Bahais of Canada	find reference
1954 Jan	John and Audrey Robarts with their two younger children, Patrick and Tina, left Toronto for their pioneer post in Mafeking (later Mafikeng), Buchuanaland (later Botswana and formerly Bophuthatswana). Older children Aldham and Gerald pioneered to Nigeria and a homefront post respectively. [LOF485-6; CBN No48 January 1954 p11] Later the same year he was appointed to the newly established Auxiliary Board by Hand of the Cause of God Músá Banání. They returned to Canada some 13 years later. [LOF486, 491]	Canada; Botswana; Nigeria; Africa	John Robarts; Auxiliary Board Members
1954 21 Apr	Bruce Matthews arrived at Goose Bay and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for Labrador. [BW13:453] See Bruce Matthews, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Goose Bay, Labrador by Lynn Wright and Susan Gammage.	Goose Bay; Labrador; Canada	Knights of Bahaullah
1956 Apr	The publication of Ade-rih-wa-nie-ton On-kwe-on-we Neh-ha: A Message to the Iroquois Indians in the Canadian Bahá'í News. This pamphlet was translated to the Mohawk language by Mr. Charles Cooke of Ottawa and there is reason to believe the translation was commissioned by the Québec Regional Teaching Committee. [Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly to Dr. C Buck 6 January 2021; CBN No69 Oct 1955 p4; CBN 45 April 1956 p.11] See Deganawida, the Peacemaker by Dr Christopher Buck published in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies Supplement XXVI (2015) See as well Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Bahá'í Universalism by Christopher Buck published in Bahá'í Studies Review, 6, pages 97-133 London: Association for Bahá'í Studies English-Speaking Europe, 1996. Also Native Messengers of God in Canada? A test case for Bahá'í universalism, by Christopher Buck:Commentary by William P. Collins. Also of interest on the same subject is his article Dr. David Ruhe’s Tribute to Indigenous Messengers of God. See as well Messengers of God in North America, Revisited: An Exegesis of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet to Amír Khán by Christopher Buck and Donald Addison. For information about the Tablet to Amír Khán see Tablet to Amir Khan and Tablet of the Holy Mariner by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice. Bahá'í Universalism and Native Prophets by Christopher Buck. See the series Indigenous Messengers of God.	Canada	Indigenous Messengers of God; Iroquois; Native Americans
1956 May	Mary Zabolotny (later Mrs Ken McCulloch), of Ukrainian background, arrived on Anticosti Island, Canada, and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:449]	Anticosti Island; Canada	Knights of Bahaullah; Mary Zabolotny McCulloch; Islands
1960 1 Jul	Ben and Louise Whitecow (early Peigan believers) married in Calgary, Alberta, were the first Bahá’ís in Canada to have a legally recognized Bahá’í marriage. [BW13:687]	Calgary; Alberta; Canada	Weddings; Marriage; Recognition (legal); Firsts, Other
1961 8 Jul	The Custodians announced that mass conversion had begun in Ceylon, Central and East Africa, and Bolivia, while in Canada native peoples had begun to enter the Faith. [MoC293]	Sri Lanka; Africa; Bolivia; Canada	Custodians; Mass conversion; Native Americans; First Nations
1962. 10 May	The passing of F. St. George Spendlove (b. 23 April, 1897 in Montreal) in Toronto. [BW13p895-899] He was part of the community of early believers in Montreal where he learned about the Faith after returning from the war in Europe. He was a curator of the Canadian Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. The Face of Early Canada, published in 1958, was illustrated with pieces from this collection. A second book, Collectors’ Luck, followed in 1960. [BW13p895–899] See Bahá'ís of Canada.	Toronto; Montreal; Canada	George Spendlove; In Memoriam
1962 22 May	The first Athabascan Indian north of the Arctic Circle to become a Bahá’í, Charley Roberts, enrolled. [BW15:455]	Canada	First Bahais by country or area; Native Americans
1965 (In the year)	William Carr visited Alert in Canada, only 800 km from the North Pole and the most northerly inhabited location in the world.	Alert; Canada	William Carr; Arctic
1966 12 Dec	The Hand of the Cause John Robarts departed Africa from Cape Town after a stay of nearly 13 years. They were recalled from their pioneer post by the Universal House of Justice to help Canada win the goals of the Nine Year Plan. The objective was to raise 154 local assemblies by 1973 but the count had fallen from 68 to only 50, eighteen less than the number won during the Ten Year Plan and 104 short of the objective. [LNW158]	Cape Town; South Africa; Canada	John Robarts; Hands of the Cause
1967. 24 - 26 Mar	The Arctic Policy Conference was held in Toronto. Present were 16 attendees, Hand of the Cause John Robarts, representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly, the Auxiliary Board, the National Pioneer Committee and individuals involved in the teaching work in the Arctic. It was decided to establish Bahá'í houses in Frobisher Bay in the District of Franklin, Baker Lake in the District of Keewatin and Yellowknife in the District of Mackenzie. [SDSC278] Photo of Bahá'í House in Baker Lake.	Toronto; Frobisher Bay; Baker Lake; Yellowknife; Canada	John Robarts; Bahai centres
1967 29 Oct	The launch of the Centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's proclamation to the kings and the rulers in Toronto. A 30-minute memorial service for Catherine Huxtable was added to the program that included an eulogy by Michael Rochester. [LNW176-179]	Toronto; Canada	Tablets to Kings and rulers; Centenaries; Catherine Huxtable
1967. 11 Dec	The Bahá'í Campus Club was inaugurated at the University of New Brunswick.	Moncton; New Brunswick; Canada	Bahai associations; Universities	find reference
1969. 1 Jan	The Fredericton Bahá'í community became a registered charitable organization.	Fredericton; New Brunswick; Canada	Charitable organization	find reference
1969. 15 Jun - 15 Sep	Hand of the Cause Ali-Akbar Furutan travelled throughout the width and breadth of North America. This was part of an eight-month world teaching trip during which he visited New York, Dallas, Fort Worth, Memphis, Washington DC, and the National Centre in Wilmette while he was in the United States. In addition he taught at Baha'i Schools at Green Acre, Camp Dorothy Walls in Black Mountain, North Carolina as well as Davison in Michigan and Geyserville in California and he attended three deepening conferences, two in Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska and one in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While in Canada he visited St. Johns, Newfoundland, Vancouver, British Columbia and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and he taught at summer schools at Laurentian, Sylvan Lake, the Pacific Youth Institutes and he attended the Continental Indian Conference held at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. [BN No 466 January 1970 p3-4]	United States; Canada	Hands of the Cause, Activities; Ali Akbar Furutan
1970 26 Sep	The passing of Florence Evaline (Lorol) Schopflocher (b.1886 in Montreal. QC) in the Green Acre area. She was buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Eliot, Maine [Find a grave] Wife of Hand of the Cause of God Siegfried Schopflocher. For his "In Memoriam" see BW7p664. She circled the globe nine times on travel teaching tours and visited some 86 countries, many of them multiple times. She travelled to Iran twice visiting parts not previously visited by Western Bahá'ís. She visited the Guardian 11 times. She had several audiences with King Feisal in Iraq and discussed the question of the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád with him. Favourite themes for her public talks were the World Order letters of Shoghi Effendi and the emancipation and education of women. A radiant star went from the West to the East. [BW15p488-489] See Bahá'í Chronicles. See her account of her travels in her autobiographical book Sunburst.	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Lorol Schopflocher; Siegfried Schopflocher; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; House of Bahaullah (Baghdad)
1971 11 Feb	The Montreal Municipality issued a permit recognizing the Maxwell home as a Bahá'í Shrine after nine years of negotiations and delays. With this struggle came a hidden blessing. For years the Shrine had been used as a Bahá'í Centre by the Montreal community, open also to friends of the area as a place to hold public meetings, open Feasts, and certain activities not always suited to it as a Shrine. The realization was made that it was a National Bahá'í Shrine and as such should not be used as a centre. [CBNApril1971p10] Bahai.ca: Bahá’í Shrine in Montréal	Montreal; Quebec; Canada	Montreal Shrine; Recognition (legal)
1974 (In the year)	The Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith was created. [BW16:200] For its history; terms of reference and programmes and publications see BW17:197–201.	Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for
1974. Ridván	As part of the the Five Year Plan the Canadian Bahá'í Community was asked to "Cultivate opportunities for courses on the Faith in Canadian institutions of higher learning". In response the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada established the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá'í Faith. From 1974 to 1979 four annual meetings were held. The Association grew in membership, published a series of high quality monographs, initiated work on a textbook on the Faith of university calibre and stimulated formal presentation at universities and colleges throughout Canada. [Analysis of the Five Year International Teaching Plan 1974-1979 p76; BW18p194]	Canada	Bahai Studies; Bahai Studies, Associations for
1975 (In the year)	The release of the film entitled Invitation produced under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada by Elizabeth Martin, with the help of Chris Lyons. It was a memoir of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum incorporating footage from Khánum's Andean trip along with memories of her childhood years in Montreal. [HNWE36] The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada invited Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá to the re-opening of the Bahá’í Shrine in Montreal following the completion of renovations to the historic Bahá’í site. This film documents inspired talks she gave from August 30th to September 7th, including the on given in the Church of the Messiah, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had given an address in 1912. She shares reminiscences related to her childhood home which was later designated by Shoghi Effendi as a Shrine. The film was originally shot in 16mm and was digitally remastered in 2003.	Montreal; Canada; Latin America	Film; Invitation (film); Elizabeth Martin; Chris Lyons; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of
1975 2 – 4 Jan	The first annual meeting of the Association for Bahá’í Studies is held at Cedar Glen, Bolton, Ontario. [BW17:198] See also BBD201–2; VV23–5.	Bolton; Ontario; Canada	Conferences, Bahai studies; Bahai Studies, Associations for
1976 (In the year)	Elizabeth Martin with Chris Lyons made a film called Retrospective, a memoir of Hand of the Cause John Robarts. It included his reminiscences of the Guardian and of the early days of the Faith in Canada. [HNWE36]	Toronto; Canada	Film; Elizabeth Martin; Chris Lyons; John Robarts; Hands of the Cause
1976 6 – 7 Nov	The first Canadian Bahá’í Native Council was held in Tyendinaga, Ontario. [BW17:162]	Tyendinaga First Nation, ON; Ontario; Canada
1978 Apr	Dorothy Francis, an Aboriginal person from the Salteaux tribe, was awarded the Order of Canada for her services to Canadian native peoples and her efforts to preserve their culture. [BW17:103; VV29] For a picture see BW17:103.	Canada	Dorothy Francis
1979 -1982	In the period Riḍván 1979 to Riḍván 1982 the Association for Bahá’í Studies played an increasingly important role in the affairs of the international Bahá’í community and through its conferences and publications has provided an exciting forum for intellectual and spiritual development. A change of name which was recommended by the Canadian National Assembly and approved by the Universal House of Justice in April 1981 reflecting the emerging nature of the Association’s membership and activities with national affiliates established in a number of countries. lts executive committee included, for the first time, members from the United States as well as Canada. Serving on the Executive Committee were Hossain Danesh, Glen Eyford, Richard Gagnon, Jane Goldstone, William Hatcher, Douglas Martin, Peter Morgan, Nasser Sabet and Christine Zerbinis, of Canada. Firuz Kazemzadeh and Dorothy Nelson served as liaison officers in the United States. [BW18p194] See Wikipedia for a current list of association for Bahá'í Studies worldwide. In 1979 the Universal House of Justice gave a further goal to the Canadian community for the Seven Year Plan: ‘Expand the opportunities for teaching in Canadian institutions of higher learning and further develop the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith.’ And in 1981, when the second phase of the Seven Year Plan was launched, the Universal House of Justice restated this goal and divided it into two parts: ‘Foster the development of the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith’ and “Expand and intensify the teaching of the Faith in Canadian institutions of higher learning.‘ The goal of cultivating opportunities for formal presentations and courses remained a primary objective of the Association, but the Universal House of Justice also encouraged specific attention to the development of the Association itself. The Association had become a significant feature of the intellectual, social and spiritual life of the Canadian community, and for increasing numbers of Bahá’ís worldwide. In March of 1981 the Association for Bahá'í Studies announced the acquisition of a property in the heart of the University of Ottawa campus, the first such centre in the world. It is located at 34 Copernicus Street Ottawa, Ontario KIN 7K4. [BW18p195]	Canada; United States	Bahai Studies, Associations for
1980 (In the year)	The film Jubilee, commissioned by the Universal House of Justice and made by Elizabeth Martin, documented the dedication of the cornerstone for the House of Worship in Samoa. She also made a second version of this film entitled Blessed Is the Spot which focused more directly on the dedication ceremonies. The film The Bahá'ís was an introductory film on the development activities of the Bahá'í communities around the world was edited by Elizabeth Martin. [HNWE45]	Toronto; Canada	Documentaries; Elizabeth Martin; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship); Mashriqul-Adhkar, Apia; Foundation stones and groundbreaking
1980 2 May	The first Bahá’í International Conference on Health and Healing was held in Ottawa, Canada, under the sponsorship of the Association for Bahá’í Studies. [BW 18:201]	Ottawa; Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Health; Conferences, International; First conferences
1981 - 2002	A Persian-language Bahá’í quarterly journal entitled `Andalíb was published from 1981 to 2012 under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada. From issue no. 69, responsibility for the publication was moved to the Association of Bahá’í Studies in Persian (an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada). Journals from Year 1 (138-9 BE, 1981-2), Issue 1: Winter to Year 23 (162 BE, 2005-6), Issue 90: Spring are available online at the Afnan Library website.	Thornhill; Ottawa; Canada	Publications; Andalib (journal); Bahai Studies
1981 Apr	The Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith was renamed the Association for Bahá’í Studies. [BBD202; VV24–5]	Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for
1982 (In the year)	The Canadian Bahá’í International Development Service was established. [BBRSM154]	Canada	Development
1982 10 – 11 Apr	The Bahá’í International Health Agency was established as an affiliate of the Association for Bahá’í Studies. Dr Ethel Martens, a researcher in social and preventative medicine was asked to serve as the Executive Secretary. The agency was established with a view to co-ordinating and encouraging research and education among Bahá’ís who are health professionals and others who are interested or who have knowledge in this area. Goals of the agency include compiling a world directory of Bahá’ís who work in health-related professions, scientists and resources; organizing an international Bahá’í conference on health to be held every three years; publishing the proceedings of these conferences; and developing and distributing educational health programmes for children and adults in various countries and cultures. These programmes will be made available in written and audiovisual form for use by Bahá’í radio stations, Bahá’í schools, Spiritual Assemblies and non-Bahá’í' entities. [BW18:201; BW12p194; VV25]	Ottawa; Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for; Bahai International Health Agency
1982 9 Jun	The passing of Richard Edward St. Barbe Baker (b. 9 October, 1889 West End, Hampshire, England d. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) He was one of the foremost world famous environmentalists of the twentieth century, an ecologist, conservationist, forester, vegetarian, horseman, apiarist, author of some thirty books and numerous articles and a committed Bahá’í who rendered service to the Bahá’í Faith for more than fifty years. Shoghi Effendi referred to Baker as "the first member of the English gentry to join the Bahá’í Faith." [Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project. He formally founded the Men of the Trees organization in England in 1924 and it soon spread to many other countries. (Shoghi Effendi enrolled as the first life member of the Men of the Trees.) Now known as the International Tree Foundation, it has a large membership of women and men from all walks of life. In 1978 Charles, Prince of Wales, became the society’s patron. A history of the organization is on their website. [Bahá'í Chronicles; BW18p802-805] See BWNS1292. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. See photo.	Hampshire; United Kingdom; Saskatoon; Saskatchewan; Canada	Richard St. Barbe Baker; Men of the Trees; International Tree Foundation; Environment; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Cemeteries and graves
1982 2 – 5 Sep	A Bahá’í International Conference to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf was held in Montreal, Canada, attended by 9,400 Bahá’ís from 101 countries. [BW18:100; VV61] For the message of the Universal House of Justice see BW18:161–2. For a pictorial report see BW18:151–4.	Montreal; Canada	Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, International; Bahiyyih Khanum (Greatest Holy Leaf)
1983 (In the year)	The film Heritage of the Martyrs, made by Elizabeth Martin, documented the fate of the Bahá'ís in Iran. [HNWE45]	Toronto; Canada	Film; Elizabeth Martin; Heritage of the Martyrs; Elizabeth Martin
1983 21 - 23 Nov	A brief entitled The Future of Canada: A Bahá’í Perspective was presented to The Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects of Canada on behalf of the Canadian Bahá’í Community through the National Spiritual Assembly in Saskatoon. [The Future of Canada: A Bahá’í Perspective]	Saskatoon; Canada	Social and economic development; National Spiritual Assembly, statements; Statements
1984 Nov	The International Bahá’í Refugee Office, responsible for coordinating efforts to resettle Iranian Bahá’í refugees, was established by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada at the request of the Universal House of Justice. [BW19:50] For a report of the work of the Office see BW19:50–3. In 1990 this office was transferred to Geneva to facilitate closer interaction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and with other organizations concerned with refugee maters. [BW20p527]	Canada	International Bahai Refugee Office; Refugees
1988 8 May	The passing of Beatrice Owen Ashton (b. 17 May, 1890, Cleveland). She was buried in the Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. [BW20p896-899] She graduated from Vassar College in 1911 and in 1918 she learned of the Faith in Urbana, IL from Dr Jacob and Anna Kunz after meeting some Bahá'ís who had been picnicking. (See BW16p520 for In Memoriam for Anna Kunz) In August of 1918 she married Frank Ashton at Green Acre. In post-war 1945, the National Spiritual Assembly appointed her as the international relief representative for Germany and the Philippines. During the summers from 1947 to 1953 she undertook teaching trips to Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In April of 1952 she went on pilgrimage and met the Guardian for the first time. [BN no262, December, 1952 p5-7] In addition to administrative tasks she worked on the production of Bahá'í World XIII and taught summer school classes at Green Acre, Louhelen and Geyserville as well as Beaulac, Banff and Toronto in Canada. She pioneered to Lethbridge, Alberta from 1958 to 1966 and taught the Faith on the Peigan Reserve (now Piikini First Nation). When the Bahá'ís of Lethbridge elected their first Local Spiritual Assembly she went back to European teaching and made four trips to Norway by 1970. From 1970 she served in Haifa in the Research Department, cataloging and indexing the Guardian's letters and correspondence but in 1972 she had to return to the US due to failing health. In her latter years she made an index for Citadel of Faith as well as for Messages to America and indexed the Writings of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh that Shoghi Effendi had translated. Find a grave.	Cleveland; OH; Lethbridge; Canada	Beatrice Owen Ashton; Beatrice Ashton; Travel teaching; Summer schools
1988 30 Jun - 3 Jul	The Bahá’í Arts Council, Canada, held the first arts festival, ‘Invitation 88: A Festival of the Human Spirit’ at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. [BINS179:2]	London; Ontario; Canada	Arts; Firsts, Other
1989 3 Jul	The passing of Bobbie Cowan in Invermere, BC. [AC297]	Invermere; British Columbia; Canada	Bobbie Cowan; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
1989 (Summer)	The founding of the Maxwell International Bahá'í School. It was a co-ed Bahá'í school located on Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It offered day students and boarding students from many parts of the world instruction from grades 7-12. Its educational philosophy was based on the principles of the Bahá'í Faith. The school was opened in a ceremony with guest of honour Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum (Mary Maxwell, daughter of May and Sutherland) and wife of the Bahá'í Faith's Guardian, Shoghi Effendi). A tree was planted in dedication to the opening of the school. In the early 2006-2007 school year, the school board decided to drop "Bahá'í" from its name, changing it to "Maxwell International School". The school closed on its 20th anniversary in 2008. [Wiki]	Shawnigan Lake BC; British Columbia; Canada	Maxwell International School; Bahai schools; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Maxwell International School
1990 22 Feb	Jalál Kházeh, (b. 24 February, 1897, Tihran) Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Toronto. He was buried in York Cemetery in Toronto. [BINS219:90] Note: VV123 says it was 20 February. He was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God on the 6th of December, 1953 after the passing of Hand of the Cause of God Siegfried Schopflocher. [MoCxxiv] See LoF164-167 for a short biography. Find a grave.	Toronto; Canada	Jalal Khazeh; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Appointments
1992 19 - 22 Jun	Graduation ceremonies were held for the thirty-eight members of the first graduating class of the Maxwell International Bahá'í School. More than seven hundred participated in the ceremonies. ["Maxwell Eagle" Sep/Oct 1992 Vol IV no. 1 page 1]	British Columbia; Canada	Maxwell International School; Bahai schools
1993 21 Mar	The presentation of the first Race Unity Award by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.	Canada	National Spiritual Assembly; Race unity; Race (general)
1993 10 Apr	The passing of Roger White, writer, editor and "poet laureate" of the Bahá'í community, in Richmond, British Columbia (b. in Toronto on 2 June 1929). Served at the World Centre for some twenty years as a secretary and as manager of the publishing department when many important new volumes were published. Under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, he was responsible for compiling and publishing volumes XIV to XIX of The Bahá'í World, as well as editing the invaluable compendium of volumes I to XII, published in 1981. Published, at his own expense, a book of poetry called Summer Window for which he did the drawing on the front cover. Another Song, Another Season (1979), The Witness of Pebbles (1981) and a tender and eloquent novel which presented a semi-fictionalized account of the early days of the Bahá'í Faith in Paris, A Sudden Music, was also published by George Ronald in 1983. This was followed by a biographical tribute to the poet Emily Dickinson in the form of more than 100 poems: One Bird, One Cage, One Flight (Naturegraph, 1983). A short, historical account of the martyrdom of 'Alí-Asghár of Yazd entitled The Shell and the Pearl was published by George Ronald in 1984. Occasions of Grace (George Ronald, 1992) was published after he retired from service in Haifa in 1991 following a major heart surgery. He returned to Canada and was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after. His last two collected works of poetry were Notes Postmarked the Mountain of God (New Leaf, 1992) and The Language of There (New Leaf, 1992). He also completed the text for Raghu Rai's photographic celebration of the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, Forever in Bloom. [Bahá'í Studies Review, Vol7, 1997] See Bahá'í World 1994-95 pg249 for an article by Anne Boyles entitled "The Language of the Heart: Arts in the Bahá'í World Community" for mention of Roger White. See The Journal of Bahá'í Studies Vol. 26 no 1-2, 2016 p91 "Reflections on the Art of My Poetry" by John Hatcher. It is based on a telephone interview with him shortly before his passing. For obituary see BW92-93p276 Find a grave.	Richmond; British Columbia; Canada	Roger White; Poetry; In Memoriam; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Delhi; Lotus temple
1995 May	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada presented a paper entitled A Bahá’í Perspective on the Future of Canadian Foreign Policy to the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing Canadian Foreign Policy. [A Bahá’í Perspective on the Future of Canadian Foreign Policy]	Canada	Foreign Policy; National Spiritual Assembly of Canada; Statements; National Spiritual Assembly, statements; Statements
1994 (Summer)	A Maoris teaching team visited British Columbia. The visit was reciprocated by The Journey of Teech-ma, the First Nations Travel Teaching Trip to the South Pacific. See entry for 24 March, 1997. [SDSC370]	British Columbia; Canada; Australia; New Zealand	First Nations; Maoris; Indigenous people; Travel teaching
1997. 24 Mar - 16 May	The nine member First Nations Travel Teaching Trip to the South Pacific, called "The Journey of Teech-ma" consisted of Canadian Bahá'ís from Kwakiutl, Nuu-Cha-Nuth, the Ojibway First Nations, a Yupik Bahá'í from Alaska and three non-Native Canadian friends. They shared their culture and their Faith with the Maori, other New Zealanders, the Aborigines and other Australians as well as the ne-Vanuatu peoples. See entry for 1994 (Summer). [SDSC370]	New Zealand; Australia; Vanuatu; Canada	First Nations; Travel Teaching; Pacific; Maoris; Aboriginal people; Indigenous people
2000 (In the year)	The Furutan Academy was founded by Shahrokh Monjazeb. It was an organization devoted to the post-secondary study of the sacred Writings and the history of the Bahá'í Faith. It had branches in Ottawa and Vancouver. [BBS9]	Ottawa; Vancouver; Canada	Furutan Academy; Shahrokh Monjazeb
2000 22 Aug	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Audrey Robarts (née FitzGerald) in her 96th year. She was buried with her husband, Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts, in the Ecumenical Cemetery in Rawdon. He had predeceased her on the 18th of June, 1991. [BW00-01p272] After the passing of her husband she travelled to four countries in southern Africa in response to a request from the National Spiritual Assembly of Botswana where she was known as the "beloved mother of our country".	Rawdon; Quebec; Canada	Audrey Robarts; Knights of Bahaullah; Births and deaths; In Memoriam
2003 3 Mar	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Una Dean, née Townshend, in Edmonton, Canada. Una lived a full life of Bahá'í service. In 1946 she was the first Bahá'í in Dublin and was later a member of the first spiritual assembly. She also helped to form the first spiritual assembly in Liverpool. In October 1953 she was the first Bahá'i in Malta, a goal of the Ten Year Crusade. In 1954 she returned to Ireland to tend to her ailing father and to assist him in writing Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. After his passing in 1957 she moved to America, met and married her husband, Dick Dean, and moved to Edmonton where she served on the Local Assembly until 1987. [BW02-03p269]	Edmonton; Alberta; Canada; Malta; Ireland; Liverpool; Dublin	Una Dean; Una Townshend; Knights of Bahaullah; Births and deaths; In Memoriam
2004 2 Apr	The passing of Ola Pawlowska (b. Ola Clemens 14 February, 1910 in Lakta, outside Cacow, Poland) in Newfoundland, Canada. Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for St. Pierre and Miquelon, translator of the Writings (into Polish), pioneer to Poland, Luxembourg and Congo (30 years), Auxiliary Board Member. [BW'03-‘04pg236, BWNS248] For her biography see Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh" by Suzanne Schuurman, published by George Ronald in 2008.	Lakta; Cacow; Newfoundland; Canada; St Pierre and Miquelon; Poland; Luxembourg; Congo	Knights of Bahaullah; Ola Pawlowska; Births and deaths; BWNS; Auxiliary Board Members
2004 19 Apr	The passing of Mr Aziz Ismayn Yazdi (b. Alexandria, Egypt in 1909) in Vancouver, Canada at the age of 94. Aziz Yazdi lived in Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Great Britain, Uganda, Kenya, Israel, and finally Canada. In 1968 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central and East Africa and was an inaugural member of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa. [BWNS297, BW'03-‘04pg239]	Vancouver; Canada; Egypt; Syria; Iran; Iraq; United Kingdom; Uganda; Kenya; Israel	Aziz Ismayn Yazdi; Counsellors; International Teaching Centre, Members of; In memoriam; Births and deaths; BWNS
2005 27 Nov	The passing of prolific author and founding member of the Association for Bahá’í Studies of North America, Dr. William S. Hatcher, in Stratford, Ontario. (b. 20 September, 1935 in Charlotte, NC). He served on the National Spiritual Assemblies of Switzerland (1962-65), Canada (1983-91) and the Russian Federation (1996). He was an associate professor of mathematics at the University of Toledo for three years before coming to Canada in 1968 with his wife Judith. He served as professor of mathematics at the Université Laval until 1995. He was appointed to the first Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh for Canada in November of 1991. [CBNJan92 p2; 14 November, 1991] He was the author of vast number of articles and books including, Logic and Logos (1990), Love, Power and Justice (1998), and The Bahá'í Faith, The Emerging Global Religion (co-authored with Douglas Martin). [BWNS416, BW05-06p240-241] The Universal House of Justice wrote in tribute: ”The Bahá’í world has lost one of its brightest minds, one of its most prolific pens. He will long be remembered for his stalwart faith, forceful exposition, and penetrating insights.” The family of Dr. Hatcher built an on-line repository of his collected works. Contributions of recordings of his talks or other works by William Hatcher can be submitted for consideration for the site by using the contact form.	Stratford, ON; Canada	William Hatcher; In Memoriam; BWNS
2007 Aug-Sep	In memory of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and because the Native people had such a special place in her heart and that of the Guardian, Violette and 'Ali Nakhjanání travelled throughout North America during the months of August and September visiting aboriginal believers. They visited Vancouver, Anchorage, Juneau before going to South Dakota, Montana, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia where they spoke with 450 African-American believers. They visited the temple in Wilmette and then the Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia. The primary purpose of their visit was to meet with and encourage the aboriginal believers and to remind the of their responsibility and high destiny in the Faith. [CBN Vol 20 No 3 Winter 2007/2008 p23-25]	First Nations; Vancouver; Anchorage; Juneau; Canada; South Dakota; Montana; Arizona; Atlanta; Wilmette; United States	Violette Nakhjavani; Ali Nakhjavani; Teaching; Indigenous people; Native Americans
2007. 14 Nov	In a letter to the Students, Staff, Parents and Supporters of Maxwell International School the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada announced that the school would close (at the end of the term). Financial considerations were cited as the reason. Maxwell had provided an accredited academic program for grades 7–12 leading to British Columbia high school graduation certification. The school had been established in 1989 as a non-profit educational institution with a strong emphasis on the performing arts. The Maxwell Dance Workshop used dance, music and drama to challenge young people to find new solutions for the issues facing their generation. The school also had an ESL (English as a Second Language) program to accommodate foreign students who came from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. [Maxwell International School on A-Channel News]	Shawnigan Lake BC; British Columbia; Canada	Maxwell International School; Bahai Schools; Dance; Dance Workshop
2009 10 – 11 Jan	Regional Conferences were held in Toronto, Canada and Guadalajara, Mexico. [BWNS687]	Toronto; Canada; Guadalajara; Mexico	Conferences, Regional; BWNS
2009 17 – 18 Jan	Regional Conferences were held in Lae, Papua New Guinea, Vancouver, Canada and Managua, Nicaragua. [BWNS689]	Lae; Papua New Guinea; Vancouver; Canada; Managua; Nicaragua	Conferences, Regional; BWNS
2009 24 Feb	The Canadian Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Human Rights adopted a strongly worded motion demanding the immediate release of the seven Bahá'í leaders held now for more than nine months without formal charges and no access to lawyers. Appearing before the committee were the Bahá'í Community of Canada’s Director of External Affairs, Susanne Tamas, and McGill Law Professor, Payam Akhavan. [Iran Press Watch 1597]	Ottawa; Canada	Susanne Tamas; Payam Akhavan; persecution, Iran; Yaran
2009 Apr	Beth McKenty, longtime pioneer to Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada received the Caring Canadian Award from the Governor General of Canada for her work in the community. [BWNS711] Beth, a teacher by training, has taught English in Arizona, China, Japan, and Sakhalin Island, then pioneered to Nunavut where she, among many other things, started a painting project, “The Arctic Youth Art initiative,” which has reached youth in many Inuit settlements and led to her winning this award.	Iqaluit; Numavut; Iqaluit; Canada	Awards; Beth McKenty; BWNS
2009. 14 Apr	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Gale Bond, née Keass (b. 13 November, 1919 in Emod, Hungary) in Cowichan, BC. [SDSC397] See Sole Desire Service Cause An Odyssey of Bahá'í Service: Gale and Jameson Bond by Don Brown published by George Ronald for a biography.	Emod; Hungary; Cowichan BC; Canada	Gale Bond; In Memoriam; Knights of Bahaullah; Births and deaths
2013. 24 Jul	The Universal House of Justice addressed a message the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada regarding the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The Universal House of Justice reiterated a number of issues that the Association had addressed since its inception in 1975... -an appreciation for the importance of personal study of the Revelation, -correlating the teachings with contemporary thought, -defending the Cause, -encouraging young believers in their academic pursuits, -attracting the interest and involvement of non-Bahá’í academics to the extent possible, a -providing a forum for Bahá’í academics to collaborate with one another, thereby helping to raise capacity among those who participate within a wide range of disciplines and, particularly, in specific fields associated more directly with the study of the Faith, such as history, the study of religion, and translation. ...and provided guidance for an evolving conceptual framework.	Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for
2013 13 Aug	The passing of former Universal House of Justice member Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam in Vancouver, Canada. He served on the Universal House of Justice for forty years since 1963. [BWNS964] See Life of Hushmand Fatheazam as told by Fariborz Sahba.	Vancouver; Canada	Hushmand Fatheazam; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; BWNS
2013 20 Sep	Deloria Bighorn, chairperson of the National Spiritual Bahá'ís of Canada, presented, on behalf of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the BC National Event held in Vancouver from September 18th to the 21st. The formal presentation followed a panel organized by the Canadian Bahá'í Community and Reconciliation Canada. The previous week 250 people listened to Chief Doug White, Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, and Dr. Paulette Regan from the Commission discussing the challenge of reconciliation. [T&R website, CBN 24 September, CBN 9 February, 2018, BWNS1248] For the text see Submission of the Bahá’í Community of Canada to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or download PDF. The Bahá'í community also produced a short film, The Path Home, which it screened in Ottawa in association with the final national gathering.	Vancouver; Canada	Native Americans; Indigenous people; Reconciliation; Human rights; Documentaries; BWNS; film; The Path Home (film)
2018 Oct	The publication of Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist. by Paul Hanley. It was published by the University of Regina Press. Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments. See BWNS1292. See 9 June 1982.	Regina; Saskatchewan; Canada	Richard St. Barbe Baker; Man of the Trees; Paul Hanley; BWNS
2018 1 - 7 Nov	More than 7,500 people attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This forum began in 1893 at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago as an effort to promote an emerging international movement devoted to promoting dialogue among religions. Since that time, it has been held in Cape Town (1999), Barcelona (2004), Melbourne (2009) and Salt Lake City (2015). [Website] Bahá'í presenters were: Bani Dugal: “The Equality of Women and Men: Divine Imperative for an Age of Transition.” Hugh Locke: “Half the Sky, Half the Land: The Role of Women Farmers in Transforming Agriculture,” Payam Akhavan: “Equality and Justice, Global Perspectives” and “Countering War, Hate, and Violence Assembly.” Emily Wright: “Making Interreligious Chaplaincy Education Meaningfully Inclusive” and “A New Cup of Grace—A Ukulele Opera Hooshmand Badee: “Interfaith Peacemaking Perspectives from Across the World.” Nader Saiedi: Presenting the new documentary film The Gate: Dawn of the Bahá’í Faith. Paul Hanley: “Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Environmentalist.” JoAnn Borovicka: “Amazing Faiths! An Interactive Workshop on Interfaith Dialogue.” Robert Atkinson: “New Thoughts in Interfaith Spirituality.” Robert Stockman: “The Characteristics of Bahá’í Interfaith Dialogue.” Candace Hill: “From Shiraz to Chicago: Bahá’í Women of the East and the West” Edward Price: “The Divine Curriculum: Understanding the Báb, Divine Educator for the Modern Era.” Sovaida Maani Ewing: “Achieving World Peace: Bahá’í and Catholic Teachings.” Jean Muza: “Bahá’í Civic Engagement: How to Maneuver in America’s Divisive Political Landscape.” Robert Atkinson: “The Golden Rule as the Basis for a Global Justice System: An Interfaith Perspective with a Call to Action.” Edward Price: “The Divine Curriculum Concept as a Framework for Interfaith Inclusion and Love.” [CBN-Preparation; CBN-Inclusion; CBN-Films] During the conference the Hindu Swami Agnivesh said that instead of spending trillions of dollars on the war system, the peoples of the world need to unite and create a world parliament based on an Earth Constitution. He said that “without a world government, we cannot solve our major world problems.” [History News Network 13 Feb 2022]	Toronto; Canada	Parliament of the Worlds Religions
2019. 8 - 11 Aug	The 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies–North America was held in the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Canada. The four day conference was attended by some 1,400 persons. [BWNS1347] Plenary session recordings of past sessions are available for free streaming and downloading on the ABS Vimeo page. Photos.	Ottawa; Ontario; Canada	Association for Bahai Studies–North America; Bahai Studies, Associations for
2020. 2 Jun	The passing of Hossain Banadaki Danesh in Victoria, BC His major publications were: The Violence Free-Society: A Gift for Our Children. Bahá’í Studies. Vol. 6. 1979. Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace. Bahá’í Studies Publications, Ottawa 1986. The Psychology of Spirituality. Paradigm Publishing, Manotick, Ontario 1994. The Violence Free Family. Building Block of a Peaceful Civilization. Bahá’í Studies Publications, Ottawa, Canada 1995. Conflict-Free Conflict Resolution (CFCR): Process and Methodology. with Roshan Danesh. Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall. (March 21, 2004). Unity of Faith and Reason in Action 2010. The Unity-Based Family. An Empirical Study of Healthy Marriage, Family, and Parenting. H.B. Danesh, MD, FRCP(C), with Azin Nasseri, PhD. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 1 edition (1 April 2017). For a more complete list see his website. Documents by Hossain Danesh on Bahai-library.com. YouTube. See his website. iiiii	Victoria BC; Canada	Hossain Danesh
2020. 28 Sep	The passing of former Universal House of Justice member James Douglas Martin (b. 24 February 1927 in Chatham, Ontario) in Toronto. [CBNS] See Memorial for Douglas Martin -Online Commemoration. He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455] In 1984 he co-authored the introductory text,The Bahai Faith: The Emerging Global Religion with his friend William S Hatcher. His essay, The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith was a review of William McElwee Miller’s book The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings. His series of talks entitled Historical Consciousness and the Divine Plan was packaged as a compact disc and has been made available on Bahá'í Library. His paper Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran 1844-1984 published in Bahá'í Studies in 1984 is available in PDF. His article Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah was published in American Bahá'í in 1992. In 1998 his article Bahá'í Faith was published in Canadian Encyclopedia. The Mission of the Bab: Retrospective 1844-1944 as published in Bahá'í World. [BW23p193] iiiii	Toronto; Canada; Chatham; Ontario	Douglas Martin; In Memoriam; Universal House of Justice, Members of
2021. 17 Nov	The premier of the film The Legacy of Saskatoon's Secret Forest [CBNS17 November 2021] The inspirational story of Richard St. Barbe Baker, aka the “Man of the Trees,” The heritage documentary The Legacy of Saskatoon’s Secret Forest tells the story of his remarkable life and achievements. There is a 15 minute version heritage documentary and a one hour long presentation with greetings from around the world. The 15 minute prequel film “Richard St. Barbe Baker Park” tells how the heritage documentary came to be. From roots in Saskatoon he went on to inspire tree planting and forest protection around the world. The International Tree Foundation, which he founded in 1922, is still active in 14 countries. Countless people motivated by him are environmental champions today. A companion curriculum describes his holistic world view, and his daring life of action on behalf of the earth.	Saskatoon; Canada	The Legacy of Saskatoons Secret Forest; Richard St. Barbe Baker
2022. 29 - 31 Jul	The 46th Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The conference was held virtually and enabled attendance of over 1000 people fro 30 countries. The concept of "reading groups" was introduced. The reading groups were born out of a question before the ABS about how the principle of consultation can be applied in various contexts to facilitate the generation of knowledge. Eric Farr, who also assisted with coordinating collaborative initiatives, said that the “groups typically identify an initial reading list of relevant literature, which can be expanded and refined over time. As participants of a group review these materials together, they try to understand the underlying assumptions, central concepts, and highest aspirations within a discourse that have shaped thought and practice in their fields, correlating them with the Bahá’í teachings.” These groups, who met throughout the year, and each focused on a topic such as education, economics, climate change, dynamics of social change, the harmony of science and religion, justice and reconciliation, law, media, public health, and urban planning. Dr. Todd Smith, the secretary of the ABS executive committee, said: “Many of the presentations in this year’s program were the fruit of collective learning initiatives, such as reading groups or thematic seminars, that took place in the months between the 2021 and 2022 conferences. The program was further enhanced by the contributions of presenters engaged in other academic and professional endeavours.” Presentations and supplementary materials from this year’s conference program, along with an archive of presentations from previous years are now available at the website of the Association for Bahá’í Studies. [ABS website; BWNS1616]	Ottawa; ON; Canada	Association for Bah'i Studies; ABS Annual Conference
2022. 22 Sep	The screening of the documentary film ‘Others’ in Their Own Land at the Toronto Bahá'í Centre. The film was directed by Farid Haerinejad, an Iranian-Canadian journalist and film-maker living in Germany. He had made several films about minorities in Iran, prior to making this film he had heard about the Bahá’í faith but did not know much about the Bahá’ís in Iran. He wanted to make sure that such a story was told truthfully and passionately and was glad that he could receive first-hand information from his Bahá’í friends. The film focuses on the period following the Islamic Revolution and traces the impact of the persecution of the Bahá’ís on several individuals and families. It contrasts the personal lives of Bahá’ís with the public statements of Iranian officials, highlighting the stigmatization and oppression of the Bahá’í minority in Iran. The film is available on YouTube. [CBNS 22Sep2022; BIC News 31 Oct 2022]	Toronto; Canada	Farid Haerinejad; film; documentary film; ‘Others’ in Their Own Land
2023 Ridván	The release of the Ridván Message. by the Universal House of Justice. They called for the establishment of a local Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Kanchanpur, Nepal, and in Mwinilunga, Zambia. A national House of Worship is to be raised up in Toronto, Canada, in the vicinity of the long-established National Bahá'í Centre. [BWNS 1669]	BWC; Toronto; Canada; Kanchanpur; Nepal; Mwinilunga; Zambia	Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Mashriqu’l-Adhkar; Mashriqul-Adhkar, local; Mashriqul-Adhkar, National; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Toronto; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Nepal; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Zambia

from the Chronology Canada

date	event	locations	tags	see also
1902 (In the year)	Bahá'í groups were established in Canada. [BBRSM:106-7; BFA2:160; SBBH1:135; CBN No 82 November, 1956 p1]	Canada	Groups
1925 Dec	"A Plan of Unified Action to Spread the Bahá'í Cause Throughout the United States and Canada January 1, 1926-December 31, 1928" was formulated by The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada in response to Shoghi Effendi's message to the annual National Convention. [BA86-89; BN No 10 February 1926 p1] It can be found at [Plan] The goals were (1) to unify the American Bahá'í community's efforts, (2) to increase the number of Bahá'ís, (3) to "penetrate the consciousness of the public with the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh", and (4) to raise $400,000 so that the construction of the first unit of the Temple's superstructure could begin. [SBBR14p160, BFA1p110] This was the first of two Plans developed by the North American National Assembly in the years from 1926 to 1934 the second being "A New Plan of Unified Action To complete the Bahá'í Temple and promote the Cause in America (1931-1934)". [SBBR14p155-197] The above two plans were the first to have the expansion and development of the Bahá'í community as a primary goal and it is likely that they provided the model for other plans organized by Shoghi Effendi and other National Assemblies. [SBBR14p155] The first Plan of Unified Action indicates the ascendancy of those Bahá'ís who supported a centralizing authority over those who wanted a more amorphous system or no organization at all.[BiW177-8] For an essay on this subject see "Some Aspects of the Establishment of the Guardianship" by Dr Loni Bramson-Lerche in SBBR5p253-293 During the years of these two plans the National Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada developed practices commonly used in subsequent plans, organized propagation, a central budget and the modern form of the Nineteen Day Feast. [SBBR14p160]	Canada	Teaching Plans; Teaching Plans, National; National Spiritual Assembly
1930	Number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada: 2 Members: 2 [from a pamphlet, The Bahá'í Faith and its World Community published by the NSA of Canada]	Canada	Statistics
1952 Apr	In an article in the Canadian Bahá'í News by Jameson Bond, instructions were given to locate the direction of the Qiblih using the "Great Circle Route". [CBN No 28 April, 1952 p5]	Canada	Qiblih; Great Circle Route; Jameson Bond
1952. 14 May	In a cable to the National Spiritual Assembly the Guardian advised them the he would contribute £2,000 to the future Haziratu’l-Quds. [MtCp153] The National Spiritual Assembly announced that the Hazira Committee would continue its search for a suitable building not exceeding $50,000, [CBN No 31 July 1952 p6]	BWC; Canada	Haziratu’l-Quds
1954 Jan	John and Audrey Robarts with their two younger children, Patrick and Tina, left Toronto for their pioneer post in Mafeking (later Mafikeng), Bechuanaland (later Botswana and formerly Bophuthatswana). Older children Aldham and Gerald pioneered to Nigeria and a homefront post respectively. [LOF485-6] Upon departure, as they passed through Montreal, Rosemary Sala presented 13-year-old Tina with a large box containing 21 individually wrapped presents to be opened, one per day, on their 21-day sea voyage. [TG121] Later the same year he was appointed to the newly established Auxiliary Board by Hand of the Cause of God Músá Banání. They returned to Canada some 13 years later. [LOF486, 491]	Canada; Botswana; Nigeria; Africa	Hands of the Cause; John Robarts; Audrey Robarts; Patrick Robarts; Tina Robarts; Gerald Robarts; Auxiliary Board Members
1963	Number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada: 64 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies: 20 Localities where Bahá'í reside: 285 Members: 2,186 [from a pamphlet, The Bahá'í Faith and its World Community published by the NSA of Canada]	Canada	Statistics
1969. Mar	As of this date, the Auxiliary Board Members in Canada served in the following areas: Mr. R. Ted Anderson; Yukon and McKenzie Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and shared Franklin District with Peggy Ross. Mr. Fred Graham; Ontario, Quebec, The Maritimes Mrs. Peggy Ross; Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Keewatin District, and shared Franklin District with Ted Anderson. [Bahá'í National Review Issue 15 March 1969 p3]	Canada	Auxiliary Board Members; Ted Anderson; Fred Graham; Peggy Ross
1973	Number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada: 200 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies: 65 Localities where Bahá'í reside: 950 Members: 7,500 [from a pamphlet, The Bahá'í Faith and its World Community published by the NSA of Canada]	Canada	Statistics
1975 c. Aug	Auxiliary Board Member Angus Cowan announced the appointment Mrs Stuart Hanks as Assistant for the province of Manitoba, Mr Don Rogers as Assistant for the province of Saskatchewan and Mrs Joyce McGuffie as Assistant for the First Nations communities. Auxiliary Board Member David Smith announced the appointment of Mr Douglas Wilson as Assistant for the territory of Central and Eastern Ontario. [CBN No 287 Aug/Sep 1975]	Canada	Auxiliary Board Members; Assistant, Angus Cowan; David Smith; Stuart Hanks; Don Rogers; Joyce McGuffie; Douglas Wilson
1984 Nov	The International Bahá’í Refugee Office, responsible for coordinating efforts to resettle Iranian Bahá’í refugees, was established by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada at the request of the Universal House of Justice. [BW19:50] For a report of the work of the Office see BW19:50–3. In 1990 this office was transferred to Geneva to facilitate closer interaction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and with other organizations concerned with refugee maters. [BW20p527]	Canada	International Bahai Refugee Office; Refugees
1985	Number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada: 350 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies: 159 Localities where Bahá'í reside: 1,500 Members: 2,100 [from a pamphlet, The Bahá'í Faith and its World Community published by the NSA of Canada]	Canada	Statistics
1991	Statistics Canada reported 14,730 Bahá’ís from 1991 census data. [Bahaipedia]	Canada	Statistics
1994 (Summer)	A Maoris teaching team visited British Columbia, Canada. The visit was reciprocated by The Journey of Teech-ma, the First Nations Travel Teaching Trip to the South Pacific. See entry for 24 March, 1997. [SDSC370]	British Columbia; Canada	First Nations; Maoris; Indigenous people; Travel teaching
1996 (In the Year)	To Diffuse the Fragrances was the unpublished memoir of Bahá’í life in the Arctic completed in 1994 and written by Ken and Mary McCulloch. [Bahá’í Community of Canada: A Case Study in the transplantation of Non-Western Religious Movements by Dr Will C. Van den Hoonaard, bibliography]	Baker Lake, NU; Canada	To Diffuse the Fragrances; Ken McCulloch; Mary McCulloch; Bahai House
1996 10 Jan	The passing of Ruth Eyford in St. Albert, AB. (b. Ruth Monk 12 June, 1930, NS). [Find a grave] She became a Bahá'í in Montreal in 1956 and married Glen Eyford in 1957. She and Glen served in Iceland and in India. Returning to Canada she served as an Auxiliary Board Member and as chair of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as a number of local and national committees. [BW1995-1996p313]	St. Albert, AB; Montreal, QC; Canada; India; Iceland	Ruth Eyford; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Pioneering; Auxiliary Board Members
1997. 24 Mar - 16 May	The nine member First Nations Travel Teaching Trip to the South Pacific, called "The Journey of Teech-ma" consisted of Canadian Bahá'ís from Kwakiutl, Nuu-Cha-Nuth, the Ojibway First Nations, a Yupik Bahá'í from Alaska and three non-Native Canadian friends. They shared their culture and their Faith with the Maori, other New Zealanders, the Aborigines and other Australians as well as the ne-Vanuatu peoples. See entry for 1994 (Summer). [SDSC370]	New Zealand; Australia; Vanuatu; Canada	First Nations; Travel Teaching; Pacific; Maoris; Aboriginal people; Indigenous people
2000 22 Aug	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Audrey Robarts (née FitzGerald) in her 96th year. She was buried with her husband, Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts, in the Ecumenical Cemetery in Rawdon. He had predeceased her on the 18th of June, 1991. [BW00-01p272] After the passing of her husband she had travelled to four countries in southern Africa in response to a request from the National Spiritual Assembly of Botswana where she was known as the "beloved mother of our country".	Rawdon, QC; Canada	Audrey Robarts; Knights of Bahaullah; Births and deaths; In Memoriam
2001	Statistics Canada reported 18,020 Bahá’ís from 2001 census data. [Bahaipedia]	Canada	Statistics
2003 3 Mar	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Una Dean, née Townshend, in Edmonton, Canada. Una lived a full life of Bahá'í service. In 1946 she was the first Bahá'í in Dublin and was later a member of the first spiritual assembly. She also helped to form the first spiritual assembly in Liverpool. In October 1953 she was the first Bahá'i in Malta, a goal of the Ten Year Crusade. In 1954 she returned to Ireland to tend to her ailing father and to assist him in writing Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. After his passing in 1957 she moved to America, met and married her husband, Dick Dean, and moved to Edmonton where she served on the Local Assembly until 1987. [BW02-03p269; Find a grave] See Bahá'í Chronicles.	Edmonton, AB; Canada; Malta; Ireland; Liverpool; Dublin	Una Dean; Una Townshend; Knights of Bahaullah; In Memoriam; Dick Dean
2013. 24 Jul	The Universal House of Justice addressed a message the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada regarding the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The Universal House of Justice reiterated a number of issues that the Association had addressed since its inception in 1975: -an appreciation for the importance of personal study of the Revelation, -correlating the teachings with contemporary thought, -defending the Cause, -encouraging young believers in their academic pursuits, -attracting the interest and involvement of non-Bahá’í academics to the extent possible, a -providing a forum for Bahá’í academics to collaborate with one another, thereby helping to raise capacity among those who participate within a wide range of disciplines and, particularly, in specific fields associated more directly with the study of the Faith, such as history, the study of religion, and translation.	Canada	Bahai Studies, Associations for
2017 1 Dec	The International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh announced the appointment of the new Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh to serve in Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Those appointed to the three-year term were: Mr. Bahram Gustaspi, Mr. John MacLeod, Mr. Bruce Moore, Mrs. Donna Seyed Mahmoud and Dr. Faran Vafaie. The primary function of a Board of Trustees is to educate the friends on the spiritual significance of the mighty law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, enabling them to better appreciate that obedience to this law is “bound to attract divine confirmations, heavenly blessings and incalculable favours, and to promote the manifold interests of the International Bahá’í Community”. [Letter from the NSA to the Bahá'ís of Canada 7 December 2017] Photo.	Canada; Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Huququllah, Trustees of; Bahram Gustaspi; John MacLeod; Bruce Moore; Donna Seyed Mahmoud; Faran Vafaie.
2020. 28 Sep	The passing of former Universal House of Justice member James Douglas Martin (b. 24 February 1927 in Chatham, Ontario) in Toronto. [CBNS] He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455] In 1984 he co-authored the introductory text,The Bahai Faith: The Emerging Global Religion with his friend William S Hatcher. His essay, The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith was a review of William McElwee Miller’s book The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings. His series of talks entitled Historical Consciousness and the Divine Plan was packaged as a compact disc and has been made available on Bahá'í Library. His paper Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran 1844-1984 published in Bahá'í Studies in 1984 is available in PDF. His article Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah was published in American Bahá'í in 1992. In 1998 his article Bahá'í Faith was published in Canadian Encyclopedia. The Mission of the Bab: Retrospective 1844-1944 as published in Bahá'í World. [BW23p193] Bahá'í Canada 30 Sepember2020. iiiii	Toronto; Canada; Chatham; Ontario	Douglas Martin; In Memoriam; Universal House of Justice, Members of
2022. 29 - 31 Jul	The 46th Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The conference was held virtually and enabled attendance of over 1000 people fro 30 countries. The concept of "reading groups" was introduced. The reading groups were born out of a question before the ABS about how the principle of consultation can be applied in various contexts to facilitate the generation of knowledge. Eric Farr, who also assisted with coordinating collaborative initiatives, said that the “groups typically identify an initial reading list of relevant literature, which can be expanded and refined over time. As participants of a group review these materials together, they try to understand the underlying assumptions, central concepts, and highest aspirations within a discourse that have shaped thought and practice in their fields, correlating them with the Bahá’í teachings.” These groups, who met throughout the year, and each focused on a topic such as education, economics, climate change, dynamics of social change, the harmony of science and religion, justice and reconciliation, law, media, public health, and urban planning. Dr. Todd Smith, the secretary of the ABS executive committee, said: “Many of the presentations in this year’s program were the fruit of collective learning initiatives, such as reading groups or thematic seminars, that took place in the months between the 2021 and 2022 conferences. The program was further enhanced by the contributions of presenters engaged in other academic and professional endeavours.” Presentations and supplementary materials from this year’s conference program, along with an archive of presentations from previous years are now available at the website of the Association for Bahá’í Studies. [ABS website; BWNS1616]	Ottawa; ON; Canada	Association for Baha'i Studies; ABS Annual Conference

from the Main Catalogue

1970-1995: Newspaper articles archive (1970-1995). Collection of newspaper articles from 1970-1995. [about]
A-de-rih-wa-nie-ton On-kwe-on-we Neh-ha: A Message to the Iroquois Indians, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada (1956). Three items: 2021 cover letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, the 1956 message to the Iroquois Indians in Mohawk and English, and a biography of the translator, "Charles A. Cooke, Mohawk Scholar," by Marius Barbeau. [about]
Abdu'l-Baha in Montreal, by Jack McLean (2007-09-12). Overview of Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Canada in 1912, written in commemoration of its Centenary. [about]
'Abdu'l-Bahá in the West: A Biographical Guide of the People Associated with His Travels, by Jan Teofil Jasion: Review, by Anne Gordon Perry, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 25:3 (2015). [about]
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Encounter with Modernity during His Western Travels, by Wendi Momen, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). Abdu'l-Bahá's responses to the West's technology and innovations on the one hand, vs. its archaic racist and sexual philosophies on the other. [about]
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Prophecy "Indians Will Enlighten the World", by Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke (2019). Slide-show overview of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's prophecy "these Indians will enlighten the whole world." [about]
'Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to North America, 1912: A Preliminary Analysis, by Robert Stockman, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). Overview of the itinerary of this tour, the state of the Bahá'í community and the general social context of the time, and some themes of Abdu'l-Bahá's teachings. [about]
'Abdu'l-Bahá in Canada: A Compilation from Written Accounts (2012-08). Lengthy collection of passages from the books Origins of the Bahá’í Community in Canada, Maxwells of Montreal, Mahmúd’s Diary, and Abdu’l-Bahá in Canada, the newspaper Montreal Gazette, and other sources. [about]
Address to the 6th Annual ABS Conference in Canada, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1981). Address to the 6th Annual Association for Bahá’í Studies Conference, Canada. [about]
Advent of Divine Justice, by Shoghi Effendi (1971). A letter from the Gurdian to the Bahá’ís of North America, dated 25 December 1938; the Bahá'ís' achievements and responsibilities; the crises affecting the world; the destiny of America. [about]
America and the Most Great Peace interactive study guide, by Duane Troxel (2004-08-26). A PDF interactive study guide to Shoghi Effendi's letter "America and the Most Great Peace," which was published in World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. [about]
Angel Ruckus, by B. K. Filson: Review, by Albert Ouimet, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 9:1 (1999). [about]
Autobiography of Harper John Pettypiece (1921-2002), by Harper John Pettypiece (1999). Detailed life of a Canadian who found the Faith in 1952 in Toronto, and had personal experiences with many well-known Bahá'í figures and authors across North America and Europe. [about]
Bahá'í Community of Canada, The: A Case Study in the Transplantation of Non-Western Religious Movements to Western Societies, by Will C. van den Hoonaard, in Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 (1996). The origins and early life of the Bahá'í community in Canada as a sociological case study in the transplantation of non-Western faiths into Western settings. [about]
Baha'i Faith, by Douglas Martin, in The 1998 Canadian Encyclopedia (1997-09-06). Includes overview of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada. [about]
Bahá'í Faith and Globalization 1900-1912, The, by Robert Stockman, in Bahá'í and Globalisation (2005). Abdu’l-Baha’s thinking inspired much of the practice of Baha’i proselytising; overview of the practical activism of the early American Baha’is and the mutual bonds of assistance between the Baha’i communities of North America and Iran. [about]
Baha'i Institute Of Higher Education, The: A Creative And Peaceful Response To Religious Persecution In Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (1999-04-01). Overview of the history and architecture of BIHE, the independent, full-fledged, yet completely decentralized, university system run by Bahá'ís in Iran. [about]
Baha'i Temple for Canada, A, by Susanna A. Khodarahmi-Bron (2003). Proposed design for a future possible temple in Markham, Ontario; characteristics of Bahá'í temples; overview of symbolism and sacred place; influences on design of Canadian culture and architecture. [about]
Bahá'í Village Granary, The: Spiritual Underpinnings and Applications to North America, by Peter Calkins and Benoit Girard, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8:3 (1998). A village granary helps lay the systemic foundations of Bahá’u’lláh’s spiritualized new world economic order for both rural and urban society, the capstone of God’s progressive revelation of rural institutions for the sustainable use of natural resources. [about]
Black Roses in Canada's Mosaic: Four Decades of Black History, by Will C. van den Hoonaard and Lynn Echevarria-Howe (1994-02). Survey of African-Americans in Canada, their activities in the Bahá'í community, and statistical information. [about]
Broad Contours of the Canadian Baha'i Community, by Will C. van den Hoonaard and Deborah K. van den Hoonaard (1994-09-05). Historical and sociological overview of the Canadian Bahá'í community. [about]
Building Intercultural Community: Insights from Indigenous Bahá'í History, by Chelsea Horton, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 26:3 (2016). Bridging Bahá'í communities with Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States was not easy, and was especially fraught for native believers, who also confronted tensions of intercultural understanding and sometimes outright racism. [about]
Canadian Bahá'ís 1938-2000, The: Construction of Oneness in Personal and Collective Identity, by Lynn Echevarria-Howe, in Bahá'í and Globalisation (2005). On how globalization includes greater consciousness of the whole world, and a sociological perspective on how this consciousness has been nurtured within the Canadian Bahá'í community. [about]
Canadian National Convention functioning, by Universal House of Justice (1982). Reply to questions from an individual about the functioning of the National Convention in Canada with specific reference to the tellers report and the election of officers. [about]
Choice of the West for Abdu'l-Bahá's Epoch-Making Trip, The, by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). Reasons for Abdu'l-Bahá choosing Western nations for the climax of his ministry, and results he achieved in Europe and the United States. [about]
Community Histories, in Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, Volume 6 (1992). Essay on the diversity of Western Bahá'í communities, followed by six histories of selected local communities in the United States, Britain, and Canada. [about]
Concepts of Spirituality in The Works of Robert Houle and Otto Rogers with Special Consideration to Images of the Land , by Nooshfar B. Afnan (2000-12-06). The attitude of native Canadians toward the land and the prairies, as expressed through the work of two artists, their spiritual iconography, and Bahá'í teachings regarding nature. [about]
Confessions of a Child of the Half-Light , by Jack McLean (2022). Philosophical essays; recollections of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Laura Dreyfus Barney, Curtis Kelsey, and other Europeans; recollections of Shoghi Effendi by ten individuals; dreams and visions; eulogies of the author's parents; travel teaching across Russia. [about]
Cultural Reconciliation in Canada, by Universal House of Justice, in Baha'i Canada, 13:2 (2000-06). The Universal House of Justice suggests to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada that their efforts at unity and reconciliation should focus on culture rather than on race. [about]
Cultural Reconciliation in Canada - questions, by Universal House of Justice (2001). Reply from the House of Justice to a request for a reexamination of the assumptions on which its letter to Canada of 5 September 1999 was based. [about]
Deganawida, the Peacemaker, by Christopher Buck, in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, 26 (2015). Biography of the Iroquois / Haudenosaunee prophet-like figure who lived around 600 or 900 years ago. [about]
Demystifying Shoghi Effendi's Advent of Divine Justice: Condensed Deepening (2020). A study guide and compilation regarding the Guardian's call to action to American and Canadian Baha’is to engage spiritually in the path towards God. [about]
Demystifying Shoghi Effendi's Advent of Divine Justice: Condensed Text and Deepening, by Hui Bau (2020/2021). A condensed presentation of the Guardian's call to action to American and Canadian Baha’is to engage spiritually in the path towards God. The accompanying deepening uses a more visual format to help develop one's own plan of action. [about]
Development and Decline of an Early Bahá'í Community: Saint John, N.B., 1910-1925 , by Will C. van den Hoonaard, in Community Histories: Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, Volume 6 (1992). The brief early history of the Saint John Bahá'ís. Established in 1910, the Bahá'í community struggled in the hostile environment of New Brunswick. In 1925 the community disappeared, to be reestablished only in recent times. [about]
Divine Simplicity: Remembering the last Hand of the Cause of God, 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa, by Jack McLean (2008-09-18). Biography of Dr. Varqa, partly based on interviews with people who knew him in Iran. [about]
Early Believers in the West, Some, by Grace Shahrokh, in Windows to the Past (1992). Stories of Thornton Chase, John David Bosch, Lua Moore Getsinger, May Ellis Bolles Maxwell, William Sutherland Maxwell, Thomas Breakwell, John Ebenezer Esslemont, George Townshend, and Horace Hotchkiss Holley. [about]
Encouragement, Challenges, Healing, and Progress: The Bahá'í Faith in Indigenous Communities, by Alfred Kahn, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 26:3 (2016). On the challenges of community-building among Indigenous people, written from the perspective of a childhood spent among Bahá'í pioneers on Native American land, and on reconciling traditional views with global Bahá'í teachings. [about]
Greenland Promise, The, by Harry Liedtke (2012). Commentary on the misunderstood prediction of Abdu'l-Bahá that Greenland would one day become green again. [about]
Helen Frances Grand (1865-1944): Traces of a Bahá'í Life, by Marlene Macke (2020). Glimpse of one small facet of the Bahá’í Faith’s beginnings in cities like Toronto in the early decades of the 20th Century. [about]
Human environment interactions and collaborative adaptive capacity building in a resilience framework, by Peter T. Bruss (2012). Lengthy study of human effects on the environment informed by a Bahá'í perspective, with passing mentions of the Faith and the Native American Bahá'í Institute. Link to offsite document. [about]
In the Face of Oppression, by Geoffrey Cameron, in The Mark News (2011-07-29). The Bahá'ís in Iran have long been persecuted, but stand strong in their pursuit of a just society. [about]
Indigenous Messengers of God, by Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke (2014-2020). 68 essays on Native American theology and history from the perspective of Bahá'í teachings. [about]
Jack Boyd memoirs, by Jack Boyd (2004/2013). Memoirs of Jack and Eileen Boyd, pioneers in Canada, covering the years 1960-2012. Includes recollections of travel, biographies of other Bahá'ís, and historical observations. [about]
Journey Motif in the Bahá'í Faith, The: From Doubt to Certitude, by Roshan Danesh, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 22:1-4 (2012). The process of individual spiritual growth lies at the heart of human purpose. Bahá’u’lláh speaks about the collective spiritualization of humanity — creating new patterns of community and social relations — as the "journey" of the human body politic. [about]
Legacy of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to America, 1912, The, by Robert Stockman (2012). Overview of Abdu’l-Bahá’s trip to the U.S. and Canada, its impact, his social action and public discourse, and comparison with similar "travel-teaching" trips by Protap Chunder Mozoomdar and Swami Vivekanada (Hindus) and Anagarika Dharmapala (a Buddhist). [about]
Letter to the United States and Canada on racism, 1961, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1961-03-09). [about]
List of Articles on BahaiTeachings.org, by Christopher Buck (2020). List of online essays and articles by Christopher Buck since 2014. [about]
Love That Could Not Wait, A: The Remarkable Story of Knights of Baha'u'llah Catherine Heward Huxtable and Clifford Huxtable, by Jack McLean (2016). The story of the Canadian Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, Catherine Heward Huxtable and husband Cliff Huxtable, who opened the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia to the Bahá'í Faith in October, 1959. [about]
Many Messengers of God, A Native American Perspective: Deganawidah The Peacemaker, by Paula Bidwell (2011-07). Collection and analysis of proofs from the Bahá'í Writings about prophets from indigenous cultures. Includes illustrated slide-show presentation of the paper. [about]
Maps of the regions of North America, by Ralph Stockman Tarr and Frank Morton McMurry, in Complete World Geography (1912). Maps of the five regions of North America as published in an American geography book in 1912 and known to have been read by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa/'Akka while writing Tablets of the Divine Plan. [about]
May Maxwell and the Maxwells of Montreal, by Jack McLean (2019-10). Presentation of Violette Nakhjavani's book The Maxwells of Montreal. [about]
Mehrangiz Afnan (1937-2018), in Lights of Irfan, 20 (2019). Afnan was an Iranian Bahá'í and medical doctor who settled in Canada where she and her husband, Muhammad Afnan, established an Institute for Bahá’í Studies in Persian; the couple worked in the Bahá'í Research Department in Haifa for a number of years. [about]
Message to the Indian and Eskimo Bahá'ís of the Western Hemisphere, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1969). Letter to Native American and Inuit believers, about the assurance given in the Bahá'í Writings that their future is very great, and that they themselves best help to fulfill these promises by taking the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh to their own people. [about]
Messages to Canada, by Shoghi Effendi (1965). [about]
Messages to Canada: 1999 edition, by Shoghi Effendi (1999). Updated and expanded version of the 1965 book. [about]
Messengers of God in North America, Revisited: An Exegesis of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet to Amír Khán, by Christopher Buck and Donald Addison, in Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1 (2007). The indigenous peoples of the Americas have their own claim to wisdom tradition, which derive from Messengers of God to First Nations. This principle is anchored in the Tablet to Amír Khán Áhan. [about]
Native American Vision and the Teachings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, by Paula Bidwell (2011). Presentation addressing issues of concern to Native Americans, cast in the light of statements of Abdu'l-Bahá from his 1912 visit to the United States. [about]
Native Bahá'ís: Bios of past and contemporary Bahá'ís of native ancestry (2014). Links to photographs and information from the 1910s to the present about Native Bahá'ís, both from the United States, Canada, Hawaii, and Alaska, and indigenous Bahá'ís elsewhere around the world. [about]
Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Bahá'í Universalism, by Christopher Buck, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 6 (1996). Explores the possibility of including other great religious figures in the Bahá'í category of "Manifestations of God" using the Iroquois prophet Deganawida as an example. [about]
Native Messengers of God in Canada? A test case for Bahá'í universalism, by Christopher Buck: Commentary, by William P. Collins, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 8 (1998). [about]
'Never Again': Kevin Gover's Apology for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, by Christopher Buck, in Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies, 21.1 (2006). This article does not mention the Bahá'í Faith, but was published in a social justice and human rights journal and written by a Bahá'í. [about]
New Cycle of Human Power, A: Abdu'l-Bahá's Encounters with Modernist Writers and Artists, by Robert Weinberg, in Bahá'í World (2021-01). On the impact of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on a number of individuals who were at the cultural vanguard of a society undergoing rapid, radical change. [about]
New Skin For An Old Drum, A: Changing Contexts of Yukon Aboriginal Bahá'í Storytelling, by Lynn Echevarria-Howe, in Northern Review, 29 (2008 Fall). On the construction of the religious self through the storytelling processes of Yukon Aboriginal Bahá’ís: how do people put together stories to construct their contemporary Bahá’í identity? [about]
Nine Valleys - Towards Embodied Experience, The: Understanding the Confluence of Material and Spirit in the Design of a Bahá'í House of Worship, by Vedad Haghighi (2022). Detailed proposal, with extensive site photographs and illustrations, for a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Thorhill, Ontario (location of the Canada Bahá'í National Centre); discussion of the embodied experience of worship in a temple to promote unity. (offsite) [about]
Notes on Words of the Guardian, by Virginia Orbison (1956). Ten pages of notes, preserved as an appendix to Orbison's lengthy manuscript "Diary of a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Made by Virginia Orbison, January 15 to February 11". [about]
Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada 1898-1948, The, by Will C. van den Hoonaard: Review, by Loni Bramson-Lerche, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8:2 (1998). [about]
Personal Journey toward Reconciliation, A, by Patricia Verge, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 26:3 (2016). On the author's spiritual journey and how it has been entwined with First Nations people; tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Bahá'ís; pioneering to the Nakoda community; and the importance of learning, listening, and personal transformation. [about]
Plan of Unified Action to Spread the Bahá'í Cause, A: Throughout the United States and Canada January 1 1926 - December 31 1928, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada (1925-12). The first of two plans of systematic activity in Bahá'í history, followed by "A new plan of unified action to complete the Bahá'í temple and promote the cause in America 1926-1930." [about]
Poems from a Misty Island, by Jack McLean (1997-1999). Poetry written while on a two-year stay on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. [about]
Preparing Bahá'í Communities in the East and West to Embrace Gender Equality, by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani, in Lights of Irfan, 12 (2011). The way Abdu'l-Bahá dealt with the matter of gender equality, some of his writings revealed in honor of the Bahá’í women in Iran and North America, and the practical ways he educated Bahá'í men to accept women as their equals. [about]
Quiet Exodus, A, by Geoffrey Cameron, in Literary Review of Canada (2013-07). Recent history of immigration law and practice in Canada, and the Bahá'í community's involvement in governmental change. Includes addendum from Bahá'í News Canada. [about]
Return to Tyendinaga: The Story of Jim and Melba Loft, Bahá'í Pioneers, by Evelyn Loft Watts and Patricia Verge: Review, by Lee Brown (2013). History of the first Aboriginal believers in Canada, who moved from Michigan to pioneer in the Tyendinaga First Nation in Ontario in 1948. [about]
Ridván 1996 (Four Year Plan) - To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in North America: Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the United States: Bahá'í Era 153, by Universal House of Justice (1996). Country-specific portion of the annual message to the Bahá'ís of the world: North America. [about]
Rising to the Challenge of Reconciliation, by Roshan Danesh and Douglas White III, in Bahá'í World (2023-01-08). Analyzing the legacy of colonialism and racism in Canada and examining the profound, multifaceted process of social transformation that genuine reconciliation implies. [about]
Roger White: An Obituary: Writer and editor, "poet laureate" of the Bahá'í community (1929-1993), by Robert Weinberg, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 7 (1997). Brief biography, written as an obituary, of a famous Bahá'í poet. [about]
Rogers, Otto Donald, by Norman Zepp, in The 1998 Canadian Encyclopedia (1997-09-06). [about]
Schopflocher, Siegfried, by Will C. van den Hoonaard (1993-06). Short biography of a prominent Baha''i from a German-Jewish background who served as a Hand of the Cause of God. [about]
Schopflocher, Siegfried, by Will C. van den Hoonaard, in The Bahá'í Encyclopedia (2009). On the Canadian Bahá’í of German-Jewish background named by Shoghi Effendi a Hand of the Cause of God in 1952. [about]
Singular Room, A: An Exploration of Bahá'í Houses of Worship, by Sama Shodjai (2023-12). Overview of the design principles followed in building the Bahá'í temples, and the intricacies and considerations involved in their design, using Canada as a case study. (Link to document, offsite). [about]
Social Activism Among Some Early Twentieth-Century Bahá'ís, by Will C. van den Hoonaard, in Socialist Studies, 2:1 (2006). Socialist involvement of some of Canada's earliest Bahá'ís, before and after the prohibition of involvement in political affairs. [about]
Social Justice, Wealth Equity and Gender Equality: Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís of Alberta, by Leslie William Kuzyk (2003-09). Bahá'í theology takes distinctive positions on wealth distribution and gender equality. These issues are causal factors in a more just model of society. A social survey establishes empirically whether a Bahá'í population differs from common society. [about]
Ten Year Retrospective, 24 July 2023, by ABS-NA Executive Committee, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 33:1-2 (2023-10). Retrospective outlining some of the ABS' key developments over the last ten years in response to the invitation of the Universal House of Justice to help build “the capacity of the friends to contribute to the prevalent discourses of society”. [about]
Top Court Appointee a Model of Diversity, by Mahmud Jamal, in National Post (2021/06/18). Brief bio of Mahmud Jamal, the judge "poised to be the first person of colour on the Supreme Court of Canada." [about]
Wayfarer between Two Worlds, A: Recollections, by Harry Liedtke (2013/2022). A chronicle of some of the highlights of the author's seventy-five years as a Bahá'í, and covering the years 1927-2022, including periods in Germany and Canada and historical events from each. Includes poems and photographs. [about]
Wisdom of the people: Potential and pitfalls in efforts by the Comanches to recreate traditional ways of building consensus, by Broome Benjamin J., in The American Indian Quarterly (2001-01-01). Includes mention that a few Indian nations have adopted the Bahá'í "consultation" method of decision making. [about]

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