Provincial Map

To date there have been 17 Metropolitans of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land.  The Province is the second oldest (of four) in the Anglican Church of Canada and was founded in 1875.  The Province of Rupert’s Land is now comprised of 10 dioceses:

  • Rupert’s Land (founded 1849)
  • Athabasca (founded 1874)
  • Saskatchewan (founded 1874)
  • Qu’Appelle (founded as Assiniboia in 1884 and name changed to Qu’Appelle in 1887)
  • Calgary (founded 1888)
  • Edmonton (founded 1913)
  • Brandon (founded 1913)
  • Saskatoon (founded 1932)
  • Arctic (founded 1933)
  • Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh (founded 2014)

The diocese of Mackenzie River existed from 1884 to 1950 and included territory now part of the dioceses of the Yukon and the Arctic.  Metropolitans are elected by provincial synod and are accorded the title of Archbishop (of their diocese) and addressed as “The Most Reverend”.  Upon retirement, metropolitans in the Province of Rupert’s Land do NOT retain the title of “Archbishop” or form of address “Most Reverend”.

Metropolitical No. Dates as Metropolitan Name
1st 1875-1904 The Most Rev. Robert Machray (1831-1904)Archbishop of Rupert’s Land(Bishop of Rupert’s Land until 1893, Archbishop of Rupert’s Land from 1893-1904)(Position of Metropolitan and title of Archbishop not created until 1893)
2nd 1905-1931 The Most Rev. Samuel Pritchard Matheson (1852-1942) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
3rd 1931-1934 The Most Rev. Isaac Stringer (1866-1934)Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
4th 1935-1942 The Most Rev. Malcolm Taylor McAdam Harding (1864-1949) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
5th 1943-1953 The Most Rev. (Louis) Ralph Sherman (1886-1953) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
6th 1954-1960 The Most Rev. Walter Foster Barfoot (1893-1978) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
7th 1961-1969 The Most Rev. Howard Hewlett Clark(1903-1983) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
8th 1970-1977 The Most Rev. George Frederic Clarence Jackson (1907-1990) Archbishop of Qu’Appelle
9th 1977-1982 The Most Rev. Frederick Hugh Wright Crabb (1915-2007) Archbishop of Athabasca
10th 1982-1986 The Most Rev. Michael Geoffrey Peers Archbishop of Qu’Appelle
11th 1986-1987 The Most Rev. (Edwin) Kent Clarke Archbishop of Edmonton
12th 1988-1993 The Most Rev. Walter Heath Jones (1928-2003) Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
13th 1994-1999 The Most Rev. (John) Barry Curtis Archbishop of Calgary
14th 2000-2003 The Most Rev. Thomas Oliver Morgan Archbishop of Saskatoon
15th 2003-2009 The Most Rev. John Robert Clark Archbishop of Athabasca
16th 2009-2014 The Most Rev. David Norman Ashdown Archbishop of Keewatin
17th 2015- The Most Rev. Gregory Kerr-Wilson Archbishop of Calgary