Presbyterian Church in Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of Presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Canada 2001 Census 409,830 Canadians identify themselves as Presbyterian, that is, 1.4% of the population.

The Canadian roots of the Presbyterian Church in Canada can be traced to both Scottish settlers and French Huguenots, and the first Presbyterian churches formed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, following such European Protestant Reformation theologians as John Calvin and John Knox.

Once the largest Christian denomination in English-speaking Canada, in 1925 some 70% of its congregations joined with the Methodist Church of Canada and the Congregationalist Union to form the United Church of Canada. The terms Continuing Presbyterians and Non-Concurring Presbyterians were then used by those who did not participate in the merger, until the legal right to use the name "Presbyterian Church in Canada" was regained in 1939. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that although the institutional Presbyterian Church in Canada may legally have merged with the Methodist Church, the United Church had effectively vacated the name and it remained available to the non-concurring Presbyterians. It also was a benefit to have support from Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir, and from Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King.