The Y.M.C.A. came to the Dominion of Canada in 1847, and is still going strong in Brandon today.
11/25/2009 at 7:59 AM
Montreal can boast that they held the first ‘Y’ in North America.
In 1847, Francis Grafton and James Clexton were two evangelical businessmen who brought a Charter they had received from the associations founder Sir George Williams in England.
Both men were concerned with the community welfare of Montreal, and felt that because it had a mixed population, as in contrast to the Roman Catholic dominated population of Quebec City they felt it would be possible to make some progress in evangelical work.
It took them nearly four years of work in Montreal, but they were able to establish the first North American chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association on November 25th 1851, only one month before a Y.M.C.A. Chapter was formed in Boston Massachusetts.
The ‘Y’ symbol is one triangle within another, and represents the three areas of spirit, mind and body: the attributes the Association strives to improve. One Triangle within another symbolizes a person within their community.
At different times during its history the Montreal ‘Y’ has emphasized different parts of the trio. In the beginning the Christian, and young aspects were dominant in their proceedings. Then it was sport that became the focus.
In 1870, the Association started night adult education classes for people who worked during the day, but wanted a chance to complete their education. These programs were so successful that in 1926 the ‘Y’ founded Sir George Williams College, which today is part of Concordia University.
By the 1950’s, the Christian aspect of the ‘Y’ was replaced by a more general emphasis on human values.
It was only five years after the Montreal opening that the Brandon ‘Y’ opened in 1886 with the first Y.M.C.A. building being constructed in 1905. The current building was built in 1966, and a major expansion planned to be started in 2009.
Note: Evangelicalism, a Christian theological views emphasizing personal faith and the authority of the Bible.
Source:
http://www.ymcabrandon.com/page.aspx?page_id=75