The Bill to incorporate the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada was passed by both Houses of the Canadian Parliament, and given Royal assent on April 30, 1949.
William Sutherland Maxwell—architect of the Shrine of the Báb, appointed a Hand of the Cause of God in 1951, died in Montreal in 1952. His “saintly life” is described in “Bahá’í World” Vol. XII, In Memoriam.
The first pioneers to Newfoundland, arriving in 1949, were Miss Margaret Reid, Miss Dorothy Sheets, and Miss Doris Skinner (who remained there until 1955).
Miss Nancy Gates—American pioneer to Denmark who attempted to pioneer to Greenland, but was unable to do so.
James and Mrs. Melba Loft—believers who pioneered from the United States to the Tyendinaga (Mohawk) Indian Reserve, near Shannonville, Ontario, 1949-.
Miss Nan Brandle—beginning in 1950 served several years as a pioneer to the Indians in Department of Indian Affairs hospitals at Fisher River, Hodgson, Manitoba and at Moose Factory and Ohsweken, Ontario.
Jameson Bond—first pioneer to the Canadian Arctic (District of Keewatin 1950, District of Franklin 1951–63, with Mrs. Gale Bond from 1953 on).
The Tablets of the Divine Plan, revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1916–17, and addressed severally to the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, constitute the authority for the successive Plans inaugurated by the Guardian for the spread of the Faith and the establishment of its Institutions throughout the world.
Louis Bourgeois—architect of the Mother Temple of the West, in Wilmette, Illinois, the construction of which was the first collective enterprise undertaken by the Bahá’ís of America. He died in 1930.
Miss Marion Jack—“immortal heroine” and “shining example to pioneers”, who remained at her post in Sofia, Bulgaria from 1930 until her death in 1954. Her imperishable services are recorded in “Bahá’í World” Vol. XII, In Memoriam.