Presbyterian Church in Canada

(Eglise presbytérienne au Canada)

The Presbyterian Church in Canada met in general assembly for the first time in 1875, in Montreal. Prior to that, there were four independent synods representing various branches of Presbyterianism, largely on the basis of links with mother churches in the British Isles. The PCC is a national church, with presbyteries in each of the ten provinces and, though predominantly English-speaking, it has congregations which use French, Hungarian, Italian, Chinese, Ukrainian and even, in the older settlements of Nova Scotia, Gaelic. In 1925, the majority of Canadian Presbyterians merged with Congregationalists and Methodists to form the United Church of Canada. But a considerable minority, convinced that certain specific Presbyterian principles had to be maintained, remained in the continuing Presbyterian Church in Canada. The general assembly of the PCC met in 1975 to celebrate the union of four Presbyterian synods in 1875. The church still remains strong in some parts of the Atlantic provinces, and in the Toronto Hamil-ton-St Catharines-Guelph area of Ontario. There are eight synods, corresponding for the most part to the provincial areas of the country.

Various boards and committees were restructured in the 1990s through the efforts of the organization and planning task force. An active programme is being carried out overseas, in Taiwan, Japan, Nigeria and other parts of the world.