Who We Are

A diverse and growing community

“The future of Canada, whether from a material or a spiritual standpoint, is very great. Day by day civilization and freedom shall increase.”

— ‘Abdu'l-Baha

The Bahá’ís of Canada are part of a worldwide community that applies the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith to their personal and collective lives.

The Bahá’í community reflects the diversity of Canada itself, including Indigenous peoples, first-generation immigrants, and multi-generational Canadians of English, French, and other national backgrounds. Bahá’ís work alongside friends and neighbours to realize Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for society, where the dignity and nobility of the individual is upheld, cultural diversity is valued and celebrated, and unity and fellowship among all its members is consciously fostered.

A vision of oneness

Bahá’u’lláh describes humanity as undergoing a transition to an age of collective maturity when warfare and social division will give way to peace and mutual understanding. His teachings challenge humanity to break free of the limitations that set people against each other and instead see each other as part of one human family, sharing a common homeland. “The earth,” He says, “is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

Bahá’u’lláh calls on humanity to recognize “that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth,” and that the Creator has sent Messengers to us throughout human history to contribute to the spiritual and cultural evolution of humanity. Indeed, Bahá’ís understand divine revelation to be the driving force animating progressive developments in human civilization. As Bahá’u’lláh wrote, “All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”

Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings centre on the oneness of the human family, calling for the elimination of all forms of prejudice.

The progress of society, therefore, depends upon balanced relationships between the individual, the community, and institutions, each of which has its own responsibilities and roles to further social progress. Social change involves both individual transformation and the creation of just social, economic, and political institutions.

A diverse and growing community

The Bahá’í Faith began in 1844, and it has been present in Canada since 1898. The earliest Bahá’í group was established in London, Ontario with Montréal becoming an important centre of early Bahá’í activity soon after. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s widely celebrated visit to Montréal in 1912 helped to fortify the identity of the nascent community and accelerate its growth and development. Today, this visit is memorialized by a Bahá’í Shrine in Montréal, the former home of the Maxwell family and a central gathering place for the early Canadian Bahá’í community.

The Bahá’í community grows organically through the spreading influence of a pattern of individual and collective life that embraces people from every race, class, and religion. Tens of thousands of people, in neighbourhoods and villages across the country, participate in Bahá’í activities with their friends and neighbours – independent of whether they formally associate themselves with the Bahá’í Faith.

Bahá’ís can be found in every region of the country, working in diverse social and cultural contexts to apply the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to the needs of society. Today there are deeply rooted communities in all corners of the country: British Columbia, Alberta, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic, and Northern Canada.

In this section

Learn more about the Bahá’í Faith in Canada.