From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Mennonites/Harry Loewen
Mennonites are an ethno-religious people who derive their name from Menno Simons (1496–1561), a former Roman Catholic priest and early Anabaptist leader. At present there are close to one million baptized Mennonites throughout the world. If one were to count unbaptized children and young people as well, as sociologists generally do, this number might be doubled or tripled.
In Canada there are some 200,000 Mennonites, of whom 114,400 are baptized members. They reside primarily in Ontario and in all the western provinces. (See Table 1.) The two largest groups in Canada are the Conference of Mennonites, generally referred to as the General Conference Mennonites (GCs), with 29,000 baptized members, and the Mennonite Brethren (MBs), with some 26,000 baptized members. These two groups comprise about 55 percent of Canada’s Mennonite population. Other groups are the Old Order Mennonites and Amish in Ontario, the Evangelical Mennonite Church (Kleine Gemeinde), the Old Colony Mennonites and Sommerfelder Church, the Chortitzer Mennonite Church, and the Bergthaler Churches in Alberta and Saskatchewan and several others. (See Table 2.) The membership among the smaller groups varies from about 1,000 to 7,000. (See also AMISH;GERMANS;HUTTERITES.)
Mennonite population in Canada
Province
1981
1991
Newfoundland
-
30
Prince Edward Island
-
20
Nova Scotia
220
560
New Brunswick
180
240
Quebec
1,075
1,655
Ontario
46,485
52,645
Manitoba
63,490
66,000
Saskatchewan
26,265
25,240
Alberta
20,545
22,330
British Columbia
30,895
39,055
Yukon Territory
-
110
Northwest Territories
-
85
Total
189,370
207,970
Source: 1981 and 1991 Canadian censuses Note: Total includes all groups of Mennonites, including non-baptized persons. Hutterites are not included (21,495 in 1991).
In theological terms, these groups are quite similar, but in terms of ethnicity or the way they live, there are considerable differences among them. The General Conference Mennonites and the Mennonite Brethren are the most liberal and acculturated among Canadian Mennonites, whereas the Old Order Mennonites, the Old Order Amish, and others are more conservative with regard to dress codes, methods of farming, and “separation from the world.”
Mennonite groups in Canada, 1982
Name of group
Members
Congregations
Old Order Amish
725
14
Old Order Mennonites
1,387
10
Waterloo-Markham Conference
935
7
Beachy Amish Church
314
5
Conservative Mennonite Fellowship
95
2
Conservative Mennonite Church of Ontario
325
8
Fellowship Churches
520
14
Midwest Fellowship
263
4
Other Conservative Groups
376
10
Northern Light Gospel Missions
287
21
Reformed Mennonites
162
2
Mennonite Conference of Ontario and Quebec
5,292
42
Western Ontario Mennonite Conference
3,111
16
Northwest Mennonite Conference
1,000
17
Chortitzer Mennonite Conference
2,300
11
Sommerfelder Church of Manitoba
4,000
14
Other Sommerfelder Groups
1,675
5
Bergthaler Churches in Saskatchewan
1,002
6
Reinlaender Mennonite Church
800
6
Old Colony Mennonite Church
4,500
18
Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference
2,658
23
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
5,000
45
Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Conference
1,935
17
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
2,500
30
Conference of Mennonites in Canada
28,152
147
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
23,248
157
Total
91,646
638
Source: The Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5: 123
Mennonites are both an ethnic group and a religious denomination. There is, however, still ambiguity and controversy among Mennonites about this issue, with some insisting that they are simply a religious group, while others arguing that they form a distinct ethnic group. Increasingly historians and sociologists treat Mennonites as an ethno-religious group, and the Canadian federal and provincial governments regard them as people distinct from others living in this country.
