Canada's oldest Anglican church marks 275 years amid reconciliation efforts

Within the wood walls of Canada's oldest Anglican church are many remnants of its past — from a velvet-clad pew for the Royal Family to a piece of metal blown into a wall by the Halifax Explosion.

St. Paul's Church has been around as long as Halifax — established in 1749 by the British colonial forces — and is the city's oldest building, celebrating its 275th anniversary this year. 

As the church reflects on its history, it's also reckoning with its relationship with the region's Mi'kmaq, who first inhabited the shores of Kjipuktuk, or "The Great Harbour," as the area was known.  

"You have to recognize the past. You can't ignore it," said Rev. Paul Friesen, who became the 16th rector of St. Paul's in 2005.

Halifax was a planned settlement chosen by the British for its proximity to the ocean and meant to counter the influence of the Fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton held by France, according to Stephen Augustine, a hereditary chief on the Mi'kmaq Grand Council.

Edward Cornwallis, a British-born military leader, was made governor of Nova Scotia in 1749 and was assigned to establish the new town. The new government also founded St. Paul's, which was established by royal proclamation by King George II, becoming the official church of the new government and the first church outside of Great Britain to be designated an Anglican cathedral.

In those days, the church and the colonial government were intertwined.

After Cornwallis arrived, a French-born Catholic priest named Pierre Maillard penned a letter in English, Mi'kmaw and French telling him he had no right to establish a settlement there. Maillard was a friend to the Mi'kmaq, having landed in Louisbourg 14 years prior and learning to speak their language.

"There was a strong connection between the Mi'kmaq and the French, religious-wise, marriage-wise, linguistically, trade-wise," said Augustine, who recently retired from teaching at Cape Breton University.

Maillard's letter to Cornwallis was taken as a declaration of war, prompting him to issue what has become known as the "scalping proclamations," meaning his government would pay a bounty for the killing of any Mi'kmaw adult or child in a bid to drive them off mainland Nova Scotia.

The bloodshed eventually subsided, and in 1761, the Mi'kmaq were in the process of signing a Peace and Friendship Treaty with the British, during which time Maillard had moved to Halifax and was a priest to the Mi'kmaq. He's believed to have been used as a translator during the negotiation process.

Maillard died soon after, and a funeral mass was held for him at St. Paul's Church, despite him being a Catholic priest.

"They wanted to honour him for his work," said Augustine, whose great-great-great-grandfather Michael Augustine was a signatory of the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1760-61.

According to his extensive research, Augustine also believes Maillard was buried at St. Paul's, although a plaque erected at nearby St Mary's Cathedral Basilica purports that he was buried in that area.