The third edition of Legislative Prayer Across Canada includes the new inclusion of Indigenous Land Acknowledgements in Manitoba's Legislative Assembly, references to the new monarch and updated endnotes.
Canada is often viewed as a diverse and multicultural country. Multiculturalism and ‘freedom of conscience and religion’ are enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. From this, the Supreme Court of Canada has established that Canada is a secular country through what has been called the state’s duty of religious neutrality. Nevertheless, legislative assemblies across Canada continue to begin each day’s sitting with a prayer, which is most often Christian in nature.
Here, we provide an overview of the diverse practices that surround legislative prayer across Canada today.
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Version history
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1st edition: August 27, 2020
Report first published -
2nd edition: December 13, 2021
Updated to include changes to the practice in Nova Scotia -
3rd edition: December 18, 2023
Updated to include the inclusion of Indigenous Land Acknowledgements in Manitoba, references to the new monarch and updated endnotes