Why we are called the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario
Why is our jurisdiction called “the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario” when there are nine other sovereign Grand Lodges in Canada? The Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia is not called “the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Nova Scotia” nor is the Grand Lodge of Alberta called “the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Alberta”. In 1855, when our Grand jurisdiction was formed, “the Province of Canada” consisted of “Canada West” and “Canada East”, which was that land now roughly encompassed by southern Ontario and southern Quebec, respectively. (Before 1840 they had been called Upper and Lower Canada) Thus “the Grand Lodge of Canada” was the masonic body for brethren from Windsor to Quebec City. (As an aside, this is one of the reasons our oldest lodge is Niagara No. 2. In the Grand Lodge Proceedings of 1865 Prevost Lodge in Dunham, Quebec is listed as No. 1, G.R.C. and Antiquity Lodge in Montreal is designated No.- )
After the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, the brethren in Quebec felt they should have their own Grand Lodge, and in 1869 they formed the Grand Lodge of Quebec. However, the Canadian Grand Lodge did not acknowledge this body for several years, continuing to claim jurisdiction over Quebec until 1874 when we finally recognized the Grand Lodge of Quebec.
There was then discussion about changing our name to “the Grand Lodge of Ontario”, but a couple things happening at the time prevented this from happening. In 1875 a new lodge called “Eden Lodge” was instituted in London, Ontario. It was opposed by the existing lodges in London who felt there were enough lodges there already. They refused permission for the new lodge to meet in their Hall, but the members fraudulently obtained a key, lit the gas and held a meeting there. The following year, Grand Lodge decided not to issue Eden a warrant, but the lodge continued to initiate candidates after their original dispensation had expired. They formed a clandestine grand lodge which they called “the Grand Lodge of Ontario”. This caused such turmoil in the Craft that even after the irregular lodge had ceased to exist, the name was held in disrepute for years.
Furthermore, in 1872 the Prince Hall masons who had been operating in the province formed themselves into their own Grand Lodge. They applied for and received an act of incorporation from the legislature, which gave them legal title to the name “the Grand Lodge of Ontario”.
Although the name “the Grand Lodge of Ontario” was thus not available to us, it was finally admitted that we should no longer continue to call ourselves by the misleading name of “the Grand Lodge of Canada”, and so we changed it to “the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario”.
References:
- A Concise History of Freemasonry in Canada, Osborne Sheppard, Hamilton, 1912
- Historical Sketch of St. John’s Lodge No. 20, G.R.C., London, Ont., 1957
- Proceedings of The Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Canada, 1865
- http://freemasonry.org/phglont/history.htm