Huron Anglican Parishes

Yesterday, Bishop Fred Hiltz of the diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island was elected as the 13th primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. He won on the fifth ballot receiving 60 out of 116 votes (51.7 per cent) from clergy, and 81 out of 137 votes from laity (59 per cent). Bishop Victoria Matthews of the diocese of Edmonton received 56 votes from clergy, and 56 from the laity. The other candidates nominated for primate, Bishop Bruce Howe of Huron and Bishop George Bruce of Ontario, were dropped on the third ballot.

In the 3rd and 4th ballots Bishop Matthews received a majority of the votes from clergy while Bishop Hiltz received the majority of votes from the laity. If the stalemate had remained on the 5th ballot, the decision of choosing the next primate would have fallen on the bishops, who were sequestered nearby.

Bishop Fred Hiltz was born and raised in Dartmouth, N.S. He is a graduate of Dalhousie University (BSc major in Biology) and the Atlantic School of Theology (MDiv). He was ordained a deacon on June 3, 1977, and as priest on June 29, 1978. He served in the Nova Scotia parishes of Christ Church, Sydney; Melford-Guysborough; Timberlea-Lakeside; The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax; and St. John’s Church, Lunenburg.

In October 1994, he was elected Suffragan Bishop, and ordained and installed on January 18, 1995. In November 2001, Bishop Hiltz was elected Coadjutor Bishop, and was subsequently installed Diocesan Bishop on March 21, 2002.

Starting in 1971 with the 10th Primate, The Most Rev. Edward W. Scott (1919-2004), Primates are permanently based in Toronto and do not continue as a diocesan bishop.