We’re glad you found us! We are a Masonic Lodge that meets at the Annette Street Temple in Toronto from September to June. Victoria is an active Lodge whose primary purpose is to provide fellowship for men of good conscience. If you are a Mason, we invite you to visit us on the first or third Tuesday of any month. If you are interested in Masonry, we invite you to explore our site and to contact us with any questions. Masonry is an inclusive and inviting organization. It offers the benefits of life-long fellowship with a group of men who share an interest in living according to their moral outlook. We look forward to meeting you.

The winter solstice is approaching.

In the darkness of the longest night of the year, let us contemplate on the light we have found in Freemasonry. Let us cheerfully embrace the opportunity of practicing that virtue which we all profess to admire – Charity.

While we are cautiously advised to give within our means, there is one thing that we can always give in abundance. Love! Love for our family, for our brethren, for our neighbors, for those less fortunate than us, for our close friends and for those that we will never meet. The more we give, the more we will receive.

May you have blessed and loving holidays.

Brother Andrei Traikovski

This month, March is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. It is true that it is the month when we mark the vernal equinox, the return of spring, the rebirth of the land.

It is also the month of the feast days of Saint Patrick.

So raise a glass and spread some cheer…

“May the lilt of Irish laughter
lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
shorten every road…
And may all your friends remember
all the favours you are owed!”

Fraternally, Stephen Nichols W.M.

Social obligation, as a part of the symbol, is also seen in the harmonious working together of many units to a single end, living in peace and harmony with their fellow creatures.

The Beehive appears on the collar of the undress regalia of District Deputy Grand Masters. It symbolises his untiring work and dedication to the Craft, with particular attention to the Lodges in his District.

It supports research into the causes and cures of deafness, and supports voice programs for children with hearing impairments.

The Foundation fights drug, alcohol and substance abuse awareness in schools. It funds teaching and research for Autism.

It supports youth programs of the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, 4-H, and other similar organisations.

Donations are fully tax deductible, and every Mason should be aware of its charitable works.

It was instituted in 1750, and was called, originally, “First Lodge”, and was  warranted under the St. John’s Grand Lodge of Boston (the then Grand Lodge for New England). It later came under the authority of the then Provincial Grand Lodge of England, and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia.

In 1866, when the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia was formed, it finally became St. Andrew’s Lodge No. 1. The Lodge is an active one, and meets on the 1^st Tuesday in “Freemasons Hall” on Barrington St. in downtown Halifax.

The ritual used is the Ancient York ritual, which is mostly analogous to the Webb ritual used in the USA.

Tradition says this Lodge was formed by skilled craftsmen brought over from the continent by King David I to build Holyrood Abbey in 1128 A.D.  It’s oldest minute is dated July 31 1599, but even at that time, the Lodge had been working for a considerable period.

The really remarkable fact is that from 1599 until the present day, only four years have been unrecorded by this Lodge.

“Freemasons” were distinguished from “Masons” as a separate class of workmen, notably in their wages.  In numerous building accounts, “Freemasons were regularly distinguished from “rough” Masons, brick or stone layers, rough hewers, hard hewers, etc.

It was also quite probably the case, that Freemasons were not serfs or vassals, and indeed were free men, who had the opportunity, because of their station, to advance and excel in their profession.

Ordinary Masons were paid 1 1/2 to 3 pence per day, whilst Freemasons received 2 1/2 to 4 pence per day.

The term “Freemason” was also connected with “freestone”, meaning excellent quality. Freestone was a fine grained stone that could be worked in any direction, thus lending itself particularly to the carving of foliage, images and mouldings, window frames, and doorways.

The skilled worker in “freestone’ was an artist and a precision worker, so that the designation “Freemason” denoted superior qualifications in the mason trade.

Bro. Diefenbaker was a Shriner and was coronetted a 33 Degree Scottish Rite Mason at Windsor, Ontario on September 9 1959. He was an active Mason, and in July 1975, he was unanimously elected Imperial Potentate of the new Tunis Temple in Ottawa, and was also honorary Grand Master of Canadian DeMolay.

Bro. Diefenbaker was  Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 – 1963. Also, in 1957 he was named to the Queen’s Imperial Privy Council. In April 1976 he received from the Queen the insignia of membership in the exclusive, “Companions of Honour” order, which is limited to the sovereign and only 65 members.

Following his death in 1979, a Canada Post stamp was issued in honour of our former Prime Minister and Brother.

H.R.H. affiliated with Glamis Lodge, of which his father-in-law, the Earl of Strathmore, was a Past Master. He became Grand Master Mason of Scotland for part of 1936, but resigned his office upon his ascendancy to the throne.

King George VI participated actively in Masonic ceremonies, and this before crowded assemblies. He was installed as Past Grand Master at the Royal Albert Hall before an audience of Masons from all over the world. Similarly, he conducted, in person, the installation of three Grand Masters – the Duke of Kent in 1939, the Earl of Harewood in 1943, and the Duke of Devonshire in 1948.

King George VI had always regarded Freemasonry as one of the strongest influences on his life, and his death on February 6^th 1952, was a severe blow to the Craft, as it was to all England, the British Isles, and the free world.