ORANGEISM - The Canadian Scene A Brief Historical Sketch
By Dominic Di Stasi
Grand Master and Sovereign Grand Orange Lodge of Canada
July 1995

The 200th anniversary of the Battle of the Diamond which resulted in the  formation of the Orange Order is being commemorated in every Orange jurisdiction this year including Canada. It is fitting, therefore, that  a brief historical sketch of the formation and contribution of the Orange Association to the development of Canada may be of interest to our many brothers and sisters everywhere.

ORANGE ASSOCIATION FORMED

The Loyal Orange Association has played and continues to play a great part in the history of Canada. It is not known when or where the first Orange meetings were held and there are no available records that confirm when the first Orangeman arrived in Canada.  There is, however,  evidence of Orange activity in the very early1800s. The majority  Protestant population at that time was in UpperCanada (approximately  36,000) many of whom were Orangemen, with or without certificates or warrants.The Orange Association was officially formed in Canada in the year 1830 in Brockville, Ontario, mainly through the efforts of Ogle  R.Gowan who came to Canada from Wexford, Ireland in 1829.  Upon his arrival in Brockville, he immediately took note of the large number of Irish immigrants who lived there and he quickly became aware of the great advance that Orangeism had made in the community and he set out to extend it. 

On Gowan's initiative, a general meeting of all Orangemen was  called at Brockville on New Year's Day 1830. The result was the forming of the Grand Orange Lodge of British America and Gowan was chosen to be  the first Grand Master.  With the organization of the Grand Lodge, the  Canadian Orange men created a central body which placed the Order under  a uniform system of controlling membership, dues, rituals, signs,  passwords and the election of officers.The first Orange warrant was issued to Brockville LOL No. 1 which is still in existence today.

MILITARY LODGES

But Orangemen were in Canada long before the first Orange lodge was formed. The first Orangemen in Canada were military soldiers. Orangeism  was introduced in Saint John, New Brunswick, by the medium of military lodges.   Most of the British warships and regiments carried with them  Orange warrants during the period of 1818 - 1824.

Verner Lodge was the first Orange Lodge instituted in Eastern Canada in1831 and it still  exists to the present day. The first Orange Lodge in Toronto was Nassau  Lodge which was also instituted in 1831. Military Lodges existed in  York, Kingston, Montreal and Quebec City. Gowan himself, was a Lieutenant-Colonel and he commanded the Queen's Royal Borderers.   He  was wounded at the Battle of Windmill, near Prescott, Ontario, in 1838 while Canadians were defending themselves from an attack from the United States.

BATTLES AND REBELLIONS

There is evidence to indicate that Orangemen were with General James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. Orangemen fought with General Isaac Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights in the American War of 1812-14.  Orangemen fought with the Queen's Own Rifles and helped to hold back the Fenians at Ridgeway, Ontario, in 1866.   An obelisk there marks the spot where Orangemen died in defending their country against the Fenian invaders.

The Grand Orange Lodge of Canada had to postpone its meeting that year because over one thousand Orangemen were at the front. Orangemen played a big part in suppressing the Upper Canada rebellionof William Lyon Mackenzie in 1837.  Though the  rebellion was but a skirmish and  short-lived, nevertheless, 317 Orangemen were sworn in by the Mayor of Toronto and then resisted  Mackenzie's march down Yonge Street in 1837. Orangemen were in western Canada during the rebellions of Louis Riel in 1870 and 1885. 

Riel had an Ontario Orangeman, Thomas Scott, shot because he insisted that Riel had no right to set up a provincial government. Riel was later found guilty  of treason and was ordered to be executed by the Macdonald government.

WORLD WARS

Since confederation in 1867, Orangemen have defended Canada in the Boer War in South Africa at the turn of the century and in two world wars. In  World War I, some 55,000 Orangemen enlisted in the armed services and some 8,000 laid down their lives on the battlefield.  Similarly, in 1939, when democracy and freedom were again threatened, Canadian Orangemen enlisted, fought and died for King and country and as a result  many of our lodges were depleted in membership and many had to close.    It was Sir Sam Hughes, an Orangeman, who directed Canada's war effort in  World War I.

PARADES

The Orange Association has exited in Canada officially for 165 years. No other fraternal or patriotic society has such a long history in Canada. The first Twelfth of July Orange Parade was held in the city  of  Toronto in 1822 and has continued uninterrupted ever since.  In the  1920s and 1930s when the Orange Association was at its peak, Toronto was  known as 'the Belfast of Canada' and parades in the city were known to  take some four hours to pass a given point. Parades were held in every provincial jurisdiction in Canada.

STATESMAN

No club, organization or group has produced more leaders in Canada at the federal, provincial and municipal level of government than has the Orange Association. Orangemen in Canada make no apologies for supporting such a boastful statement.   From the local school trustee to the highest position of prime minister, Canadian Orangemen have given leadership and distinguished service in every sphere of Canadian society. 

Three of our members have been prime ministers of Canada,  namely Sir John A. Macdonald, the father of Confederation, Sir Mackenzie  Bowell, a Past Grand Master and John Diefenbaker.  Premier Joseph  Smallwood who brought Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949  was also an Orangeman. 

It was an Orangeman, Alexander Muir, who wrote Canada's first national song - The Maple Leaf Forever. The maple tree  that inspired him to write the song in 1867 still stands in the city of Toronto and has been suitably marked by a plague erected by the Grand  Orange Lodge of Canada.

ORANGEISM SPREADS

The 1860s saw some great changes as Orangeism spread across Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  Lodges were formed later in Nova Scotia,  Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Manitoba and British Columbia and the membership continued to increase in large numbers. In 1860 the Grand Orange Lodge was restructured to include Provincial Grand Lodges because of the great number of lodges that were being instituted during that period.  It has been said, but never confirmed, that when Canadian Confederation came, Sir John A. Macdonald was influenced by the new structure of the Orange Association when the Canadian provinces  were formed in 1867.

IMMIGRATION AND THE ORANGE FAMILY

Since the end of World War II, the membership of the Orange Association  has steadily declined to this day, but it still remains a viable  Association in Canada with lodges still operating from Newfoundland to  British Columbia.  Immediately following World War II, immigrants from the British Isles and Europe were the largest sources of immigration to  Canada.   Because they were familiar with the Canadian form of government and the English language, the Orange Association was able to recruit members from this immigration.  In recent years, immigration from these sources has been decreasing and the door has now been opened to Asians,  Africans and people from the Caribbean Islands.

Asia now accounts for 54% of the immigrants who come to Canada. The unfortunate part is that these  recent immigrants have no idea about how Canada is governed nor of its British traditions and therefore they are not attracted to membership of  our Order.   It must be noted, however, that the large number of immigrants from Korea are of the Protestant faith.

The Orange family in  Canada includes: The Loyal Orange Association, the Ladies Orange Benevolent Association, the Loyal Orange Young Britons Association, Junior Orange Association, the Royal Black Institution and the Grand Crystal Chapter. 

The official publication of the Loyal Orange Association in Canada, The Sentinel, was started in 1875 and while the style and form of the publication has changed, it still continues to be published in magazine form and it is published in bi-monthly during the year.  The magazine contains lodge news from coast to coast, religious articles, and it is a source of information on legislative matters and its impact on the civil and religious liberties of Canadians.

BENEVOLENT PROJECTS

In 1881, the Loyal Orange Association in Canada introduced an insurance  programme generally known today as "Orange Insurance". This programme provides protection for its members at the time of death and has proved  beneficial over the last century in alleviating the financial burden that often occurs at this time.

The insurance plans that are offered to  the membership have been keptup-to-date and is today a very sound and progressive Fraternal Insurance Company providing protection and savings for its members, spouses and dependent children. The Orange Association  in Canada operates many benevolent projects,some of which are:  Children's Homes, Senior Citizens' Homes, Research Institute and Clinic,  Disabled Persons' Hostel, Children's Foundations, Disaster Fund, plus many other renowned worthy causes.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised every year for benevolent purposes in the many communities all across Canada. These include Cancer Research, Heart Foundation, Muscular Distrophy and Crippled Children, etc.  Some of the aims and objectives of the Loyal Orange Association in Canada for the future are as follows: 

1. The promotion and extension of the Protestant concept of the Christian religion.

2. Provide social activities which will enrich the lives of its members and to participate in benevolent activities which will enrich our communities and our country.

3. A United Canada with a strong central government where all provinces and territories are  equal with no special status for any group or individual.

4 . The continuance of our Constitutional Monarchical System of government as a stabilizing force in Canada and Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.

5. The English language as the glue which will hold together all cultural and ethnic groups so that we can better communicate with each  other.

6. A non-sectarian public school system where children of all races,creeds and colours can learn and grow together.

7. A return to Christian principles and values upon which Canada was  founded.

The  widespread breakdown of moral values, especially in high places, is one of the great tragedies of the Canadian Nation.  The Loyal Orange Association in Canada joins with all other Orange jurisdictions in  commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of the Diamond and the founding of the Orange Order in 1795. As we celebrate this historic  occasion may we ever be reminded of the deeds and acrifices of our forefathers who preserved for us our Protestant faith.   May God's  blessings be with us on this day and in the days that are yet to come.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Dominic Di Stasi was born and raised in the City of  Toronto in Canada and was educated in the public school system.   His father came to Canada from Italy in 1907 and after a five year stay returned to Italy to bring back his family.  

While in Toronto he attended the 'Casa Metodista', a settlement house operated by the Methodist  Church. In1910 he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal  Saviour and became a Protestant and later an Orangeman when Garibaldi  Lodge was instituted.  After graduating from high school, Dominic was employed in the Graphic Arts industry and later enrolled in the College of Education where he received his Secondary School Teachers' Certificate.  He was on the staff of the Toronto Board of Education for  26 years as a teacher and guidance councillor.  

During World War II he served in the Canadian Armed Forces for nearly five years. He is married  and has two sons and five grandchildren.  He is a life long member and an active layman of St. Paul-Pietro ValdoItalian United Church. He served as secretary of the Board for 28 years and was actively involved in the Sunday School and Young People's work in his youth. 

He is a Past  Worthy President of the Junior Orange Association, a Past Master of  Giuseppe Garibaldi Orange Lodge,  a Past Provincial Grand Master of  Ontario West.  He is presently serving his second term as the Grand  Master & Sovereign of the Grand Orange Lodge of Canada.

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