A religion born in the United States and tied deeply to American culture has taken on a semi-independent existence in Canada, with a new “Canada Area” and presidency.
“We feel like we can bring something to Canada. The creation of this area will bring a lot to the Latter-day Saints here,” Elder Vern P. Stanfill, the new Canada Area president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), told Canadian Affairs in an interview.
“We can contribute … we can be good citizens if you will.”
Stanfill was appointed the first president of the newly created Canada Area by church leadership in Salt Lake City, Utah in April. The Montana resident will be assisted in leading the Canada Area from its Calgary head office by Elder Delébé Martin Goury, a retired oil engineer and full-time administrator for the church who until recently lived in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as by Elder James E. Evanson, a dentist in Lethbridge, Alta.
All 10 provinces and three territories now make up the newly designated Canada Area for the church. Previously, provinces and territories were divided among three North America areas — Central, Northeast and West, an August 2025 church press release says.
Doctrinal differences
Better known as the Mormons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is going to have difficulty finding a place among Canadian churches.
The organization will not be able to join the Canadian Council of Churches until, “in short, they become Trinitarian,” the council’s general secretary Pastor Peter Noteboom told Canadian Affairs.
The 26-member council represents about 85 per cent of Canada’s Christians. The organization does not require doctrinal uniformity, but they do require its members “to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
In addition to this commitment to the Trinity, council members are committed to “confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints has difficulty on both counts. The church finds much of its theological basis in the Book of Mormon, a 19th-century document that is not part of the Bible. The church describes it as “another testament of Jesus Christ.”
Most Christian churches also do not accept baptisms by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints as equivalent to Christian baptism, saying they lack any functional relationship to the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Stanfill claims acceptance as a Christian Church “has not been a problem in other places.”
“Even the name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints,” he said. “We have more in common in our doctrine than we have differences. And I think people recognize that.”
Global ambitions
According to the 2021 census, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints has about 85,000 members in Canada, down from about 105,000 in 2011.
Stantfill says the church has something to offer Canadian society.
“We’re concerned about food security. We’re concerned about education. We’re concerned about helping people in times of devastation and disaster,” he said. “And so, by being here, we can respond more quickly to those needs.”
The church has in recent years given $2 million to the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, contributed $400,000 to address homelessness and food insecurity in New Brunswick, $700,000 to Feed Nova Scotia, the province-wide food bank, and sent 8,000 volunteers to help out in Calgary’s food drive. It has also partnered with the Red Cross to respond to natural disasters.
“We don’t necessarily try and do things alone,” Stanfill said, citing the church’s partnerships with the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services and the Adventists.
“We try to work with people that already have the understanding of the needs. And in doing that, it educates us as well.”
Canada is an important element in the church’s global ambitions. Present in 180 countries, LDS members are highly concentrated in the United States, but also have a significant presence in Mexico, Brazil, Peru and the Philippines.
Canada’s openness to immigration represents an opportunity for the church to grow globally, Stanfill says.
“There are many immigrants who are welcomed here. Some will stay. Some will go back to their countries. Some will go back to their countries as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That will increase our global footprint,” he said.
“I don’t want to get into that too much, but it’s becoming more difficult in many nations, especially the U.S., for people to come. Canada still has open arms and we respect that highly.”
