Presbyterian Church in Canada - 1925 and Since

1925 and Since

Following years of debate, and postponement over World War I, voting on Canadian Church Union took place in the late months of 1924, and into 1925.

On June 9, 1925, the group consisting of those Presbyterian congregations, and a number of minority groups which did not concur with Church Union into the United Church of Canada, met for prayer just before midnight in Knox Presbyterian Church (Toronto); not too far from the then-College Street Presbyterian Church, where the final sederunt of the 1925 General Assembly had concluded earlier in the day. Some 79 dissenting commissioners, and others equally concerned about the future of their church, had come to resume the General Assembly of the "continuing" Presbyterian Church that night. They were led by Rev. Dr. David George McQueen, a former moderator (1912) and longtime minister (1887–1930) of First Church (1881) in Edmonton, Alberta, who presided as moderator, and constituted the group into the "continuing" General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. After adjourning early in the hours of June 10, they later reconvened as the General Assembly, and also met with others (including women's missionary groups) into a congress at St. Andrew's Church (Toronto); these two key Toronto congregations provided much of the input and support for the Presbyterian Church Association, in this fight against Church Union. Walter George Brown, another leading campaigner against union, was elected moderator in 1931.

The "continuing Presbyterians" title remained until 1939. About 30% of the former Presbyterians remained separate from the United Church at the time of the divide, although the actual vote remains uncertain.

In Western Canada, the losses, as well as many presbyteries and congregations, and missions, included all theological colleges:

In Winnipeg, Manitoba College, started in 1871 at Kildonan and moved into Winnipeg in 1874, began its theological studies with the aforementioned appointment of Dr. King in 1883. It merged with Wesley College in 1938 to become United College, and is now part of the University of Winnipeg.

In Vancouver, Westminster Hall (1908) was merged in 1927 with Ryerson College (Methodist) and the Congregational College of British Columbia to create United College, now part of Vancouver School of Theology (1971), located on the University of British Columbia (UBC) main campus. St. Andrew's Hall, part of the PCC's presence at UBC since 1956, formally joined with VST in 1984, and in 2006, the General Assembly approved concurrent programmes with Regent College.

In Edmonton, Alberta, Robertson College (1912) named after the aforementioned missions superintendent, merged with Alberta (Methodist) College to become St Stephen's College after 1925. It is located on the University of Alberta campus. In Saskatoon, the Presbyterian College, Saskatoon (1914), became St. Andrew's College in 1925. It is located on the University of Saskatchewan campus. In 2000 these latter colleges merged administratively, while remaining in both Saskatoon and Edmonton respectively, and become known as The College of St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's.

After 1925, the "rebuilding" was slowed in the 1930s by the Great Depression, and the Second World War. The period from 1945 saw expansion from urban growth and immigration, especially from Presbyterian strongholds such as Scotland and Ireland, as well as Presbyterian and Reformed Church members from the Netherlands, Hungary, and more recently, Taiwan, Ghana, and Korea, the latter for whom two separate "Han Ca" Korean Presbyteries (East and West) were established in 1997.