One hundred and fifty-five years of quiet continuity.
The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon is the governing body for regular Freemasonry across its jurisdiction. It traces its lineage through the United Grand Lodge of England to the founding of modern Freemasonry in London in 1717.
Marked moments.
The first lodge in BC
Victoria Lodge No. 1085 is chartered under the United Grand Lodge of England, meeting above a general store on Yates Street in the nascent colony of Vancouver Island.
Confederation approaches
Four lodges now operate on the mainland and the Island. Brethren begin discussing the formation of a jurisdiction of their own.
The Grand Lodge is chartered
Three months after British Columbia joins Canadian Confederation, representatives of nine lodges convene in Victoria and proclaim the Grand Lodge of British Columbia on October 21.
Northward to the Yukon
Whitehorse Lodge No. 46 is established, bringing regular Freemasonry to the territory during the Gold Rush years. The jurisdiction's name is later amended to include the Yukon.
Post-war expansion
Membership surges as returning servicemen seek fraternal connection. Forty new lodges are chartered in a decade, the fastest growth in the jurisdiction's history.
The Masonic Bursary Program takes shape
A province-wide bursary endowment is formalized, consolidating decades of ad-hoc lodge scholarships into a single program for BC and Yukon students. It remains one of the Grand Lodge's most enduring public works.
Digital archives opened
Over 150 years of minute books, ritual manuscripts, and photographs are digitized and made available to scholars and the public for the first time.
155 years
The Grand Lodge today comprises 140 active lodges and approximately 5,000 members across BC and the Yukon.
Ancient, Free & Accepted.
The three letters A.F. & A.M. after our name are not decoration. "Ancient" locates us in the operative masons' guilds of medieval Europe. "Free" refers to the freemen who moved between those guilds. "Accepted" refers to the speculative, philosophical Masons who began joining in the 1600s and whose traditions we inherit today.
We are recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and are in fraternal amity with every regular Grand Lodge worldwide.