Facts and Statistics

Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began proselyting in the Maritime Provinces in 1833 when they arrived in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In 1843, missionaries were again sent to Nova Scotia by Joseph Smith, the first President of the Church. The Halifax Branch (a small congregation) was created 14 November 1843, and smaller branches began in Preston, Popes Harbour, and Onslow.

Members of the Church in the Maritimes joined other Church members to migrate to the western United States during late 1840's to the mid 1850's. A group of 50 Church members (most of the Halifax Branch) traveled aboard the ship Barque Halifax, which departed 12 May 1855 and traveled around Cape Horn to San Francisco. This exodus ended organized branches of the Church in the Maritimes until proselyting was resumed by the Canadian Mission in 1920. Membership in the area was often depleted when converts moved to be closer to the established Church.

As missionary work resumed in the Maritimes, missionaries presided over congregations in Halifax, Windsor, and New Glasgow. The Halifax Branch was again organized in 1947. Construction of a meetinghouse began was completed in 1959. In 1959, several converts were baptized in Bridgewater. A branch in Bridgewater was created in 1961 and grew to 135 members by 1967. A branch in Sydney was created in 1958. In 1974, membership in the Halifax and Dartmouth branches grew to about 750.

Church membership in Nova Scotia grew dramatically during the later 1900's. The Dartmouth Nova Scotia Stake (similar to a diocese) was created in 1985.

The Dartmouth/Halifax area in Nova Scotia continues to serve as the center of Church activity in the Maritimes.

A temple was dedicated in Dartmouth in November 1999.

Joseph Smith, Sr. and his son, Don Carlos (the father and brother of Joseph Smith Jr.) preached in several Canadian towns and hamlets north of the St. Lawrence River in September 1830. The Canadian settlements were only a day or two’s journey from Palmyra, New York, and Kirtland, Ohio, and several converts were eager to share their new religion with relatives north of the border.

Between 1830 and 1850, some 2,500 Canadians joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mostly in Upper Canada but also in the southern English-speaking townships of Lower Canada (Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

The first known Latter-day Saints to enter what is now Alberta were Simeon F. Allen and his son Heber S. Allen of Hyrum, Utah, who contracted work in 1883 on the Canadian Pacific Railroad between Medicine Hat and Calgary. They were joined by other saints from Utah working on the contract.
 
A few years later in 1886, Cache Stake President Charles O. Card received permission from Church President John Taylor to investigate colonizing opportunities in southwestern Canada.
Today, more than 182,000 Latter-day Saints are spread throughout 480 congregations in Canada.