The emigration has made the Maronite Church a worldwide witness to the Gospel. This new situation weakens it and simultaneously gives it the opportunity to participate and join the Universal Church in the immense task of humanizing the world so that everything be done for the Man created through the image of God and not by Man to the power and glory of this world. The phenomenon of uncontrolled globalization, the imposition of a thought and a unique culture, the human submission to a report of production – consumption that develops individualism are all elements that engulf human beings in a whirlwind that made them lose their bearings and their cultural and spiritual identity. The mission of the Maronite Church at the dawn of the third millennium then is to keep its emigrants in the faith of Peter, preserve their spiritual and moral heritage in a spirit of openness and cooperation with other religious communities while continuing to proclaim the word of Jesus.

The Maronites of Canada came from different countries of the Middle East, Egypt, Syria and especially Lebanon their ancestral land. It is estimated that the presence of the Maronites in Canada dates back to the end of the 19th century, when a significant number of Lebanese emigrated towards the West and especially to America.

The first Lebanese arrived in Canada around 1884. They would have settled at random in the country, where destiny and resources helped them to reside like Windsor, Vancouver, Sydney, Quebec, and so on.

The emigration movement of the Lebanese and the Maronites followed the socio-political and economic evolution of the Middle East. Thus, during the First World War many families emigrated to the West where they sought refuge, security and better living conditions. This taste for exodus has always been ancestral among the Lebanese and probably dates back to their distant origins, to the Phoenicians who were among the first to take the sea and explore foreign lands. Similarly, during the Second World War, the exodus of the Maronites increased.

As for the first Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Canada werethe Greek Orthodox. These newcomers, who spoke little or no French have integrated into the surrounding society of Anglophones. This was mainly due to the educational system. Indeed, the public schools that newcomers sought for their children were governed by a system of confessional school boards. By definition, Catholic schools did not have the right to accept anyone who was not a Roman Catholic. Thus, the Orthodox had to send their children to the Protestant English speaking schools. This phenomenon had facilitated the integration of the Orthodox into the Anglophone, Protestant or Anglican world. The consequences were good for business because the Orthodox of Montreal form a well-off and affluent society.

The second wave of emigrants was the arrival of the Maronites and Greek Melkites of Egypt, a small French-speaking bourgeoisie who adapted to the francophone society of Canada, especially that of Quebec. The efforts of adaptation and rallying to the majority of Canada deployed by this constantly minority group in Egypt have finally brought back.

Their breakthrough in free profession and commerce was great and successful. The educational problem, important elsewhere, was not an issue for these families. They were people with relatively consolidated economic status. It is significant to note that the Egyptian Maronite community of “Lebanese origin” as they were referred to, adopted the French-Canadian language skills and made many connections in business through mixed marriages with Canadians. The lack of socialization between young people of the communityfavored and helped in the integration.

The third and most substantial wave of immigration was that of the Lebanese. It was an emigration of war and a pure escape from the country. The majority of emigrants were of Maronites with modest social backgrounds.It is at this level that Lebanon experienced the most significant departure of its citizens along with the outbreak of the hostilities of the civil war in 1975 that hammered the Lebanese people for more than twenty years.

During this period, Canada opened its doors to the Lebanese and a great number of Maronites came to settle there. Their number became so important that the Holy See decided to grant them their owneparchy under the name Eparchy Saint-Maron of Montreal(Canada), to provide them with the required spiritual needs in an organizedand permanent way in 1982.

This is a very special phenomenon in the history of Lebanese emigration. Indeed, when the Lebanese left their country, it was for makingmoney, finding work, ensuring a certain wealth and, once well-off, they foresaw a return to Lebanon. This issue is no longer the case. The emigrants today, in Canada, have lost their two poles of existence, in the emigration and in relation to Lebanon(both in the host country and in Lebanon). Fortune is no longer a primary objective. Everything is temporary. No job or commitment will take root in this host country. For many, it is the expectation of a return, it is the day to day life with social assistance, assured medical care, two of these aspects make them stay in this country. There are certainly more evils than happiness that feed the daily life of these citizens. The first years, and you have to count at least ten, were always the most difficult. This last wave of emigration did not really want this uprooting, hence the difficulty of its cultural, professional or social integration and even less religious. Faced with these geo-human realities, the church invited the faithful to cohabit with the new cultures and to live their faith in the sound of new church bells of Canada.