The 75th Bahá’í National Convention

Elected representatives from across Canada came together to discuss how “havens of peace” are emerging in every setting, and to elect the National Spiritual Assembly for the coming year.

From 25-28 April, 158 delegates gathered at the Toronto Bahá’í Centre in a consultation that shone as a bright light of hope for the country, and elected nine individuals to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada for the coming year.

In addition to the delegates and members of the outgoing National Assembly, Ayafor Ayafor and Borna Noureddin represented the Continental Board of Counsellors and addressed the Convention throughout. A number of members of the Auxiliary Boards also attended as special guests, as did Dr. Firaydoun Javaheri, a former member of the Universal House of Justice.

Building a haven—referenced in the Ridván 2024 and 2025 messages—was a theme that the National Assembly placed before the Convention and the delegates kept returning to it. In its annual report, read during the Convention proceedings, the National Assembly affirmed that the “physical haven” of Canada’s House of Worship “could not rise but for the foundation of the spiritual havens the lovers of Bahá’u’lláh have created and are extending in every possible setting.” Both Counsellors helped the Convention register and reflect on the “growing urgency” of building this haven, combatting the forces breeding hopelessness in society.

There were many iterations of the concept of a haven throughout the Convention. A delegate from Nunavut said, “We are building strong relationships that can be a haven.” A delegate from Saanich, B.C. shared the story of an Indigenous youth who felt unsafe at school, but safe at the local neighbourhood centre.

A representative from the Board of Trustees of Ḥuqúqu’lláh in Canada read a message from this institution to the Convention, highlighting this Law as a means of economic justice and social progress. This Law is also a kind of haven, “a safeguard for all of us” as it helps to harmonize spiritual and material wellbeing in our lives.

In its recent message regarding family life and marriage, the House of Justice expressed its wish that the family and home “increasingly become a haven and pillar to sustain all humanity.”[1] At the Convention, it was clear that families are fostering an outward-looking orientation, extending a concern for the spiritual education of their own children to all the children in their communities. Several delegates commented on the experience of family devotional gatherings, and the effect of these spaces on the tender hearts of the children as their love of Bahá’u’lláh grows through prayer.

Of course, the Bahá’í community is not building a haven for others, but with them. Dr. Noureddin commented, “A haven is not something that keeps things out but heals the world within it.” This called to mind the expansive vision of the current Nine Year Plan, as Dr. Noureddin spoke of how the delegates are not only representing Bahá’ís but the entire population of their units, and that they should consider the conditions of all those in their areas. This was one of the shifts in mindset occurring across the country.

Delegates were encouraged to consider not only the multiplication of educational activities, but their impact in the lives of a population. For example, delegates from Montreal, Que. and Toronto, Ont. described how young people are finding ways to stop the habit of backbiting, and increasingly adopt language characterized by truthfulness and kindness.

How to create conditions where the youth can soar in service to humanity was another thread in the consultations. A delegate from Calgary, Alta. said that in her community, service projects, workshops to study guidance from the House of Justice, and participation in the seminars offered by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity have helped to raise up youth striving to live coherent lives of service.[2] A youth conference held in Ontario this past year also had a profound influence, sparking a surge of energy in the young, as shared by a delegate from Lincoln, Ont.

With regards to the Convention, a first-time delegate from Regina, Sask. said, “It’s been inspiring to hear other communities who have been where we are now and hear how rapidly things can change when there’s a concentration of efforts. I’m really keen to bring home the stories that I’ve heard from these communities.”

There was 100 per cent participation in the election of the National Spiritual Assembly, with 158 of 171 delegates voting in person.

The following individuals were elected to serve as members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the coming year: Mehran Anvari, Alex Arjomand, Jordan Bighorn, Zelalem Bimrew Kasse, Nabet Fani, Hoda Farahmandpour, Ciprian Jauca, Karen McKye and Veronica Robinson. Outgoing member Judy Filson was thanked for her 33 years of service on the National Spiritual Assembly. Earlier this year, the National Assembly had accepted her request to relinquish membership on that institution at the time of the Convention.

This year was the 100^th anniversary of the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, which took place in July 1925 in Green Acre, Maine. This joint institution existed for 23 years, until 1948, when the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada was elected.

To mark this occasion, the National Conventions of Canada and the United States—taking place during the same weekend—joined for a short period via video livestream. The chairs of both Conventions called to mind the kindred spirit between these communities and their shared history as receivers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s charter, the Tablets of the Divine Plan. Prayers in Lakota, English, French and Spanish were shared. There was a spirit of jubilation as the delegates of both Conventions stood together in applause and cheers.

Since it has been two years since the House of Justice announced that Canada is to raise up a National House of Worship, the delegates were eager to hear about progress related to this spiritual enterprise. Members of the National Assembly shared that the rezoning permitting the Temple to be built on land acquired over 50 years ago is now complete, and a process is in place to select a design for the Temple and hire a project manager. An initial meeting with the Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation took place with representatives of the National Assembly, honouring the fact that the Temple is to be built on their ancestral lands.

In its annual report, the National Assembly shared that there has been a rapid rise in friends supporting both the material and spiritual work of the Plan in Canada, eliminating the prospect of a deficit in the National Fund. Through pledges, the necessary resources to raise the central edifice of the Temple are also ensured. As of Ridván this year, 13 of 28 international pioneers called for from Canada have arrived at their posts.

In a foyer of the upper hall of the Toronto Bahá’í Centre, a display created for the #OurStoryisOne campaign, highlighting the 10 Bahá’í women who were executed in Shiraz, Iran, in 1983, was set up. This exhibit was borrowed from an event held at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, Man. to honour these women and the struggle for gender equality in Iran today. Prayers for the Bahá’ís of Iran, as well as those souls who departed the material world this past year were also offered during the Convention proceedings.

There were many observers to the Convention in the upper hall, including youth, junior youth and children. Several times the delegates mentioned that they were relating stories and learning generated by the friends present upstairs. There were also many volunteers and several translators who helped make the Convention possible, as delegates were free to express themselves in both official languages.

An observer from North Cowichan, B.C. shared, “The Convention is a space where all of Canada can come and learn from each other. When you’re here you feel like the whole country is so united.”

Another observer from Kamloops, B.C. described the spirit in which friends came to the Convention as akin to Bahá’í pilgrimage, saying “To be able to come here and observe this process is like seeing peace on earth. Particularly, to come from an area where we are reaching for the third milestone, to hear the experience of all of Canada reaching toward these goals together is powerful.”

A youth from Toronto, Ont., also attending the Convention as an observer, commented on how she appreciated how the delegates discussed both the victories and challenges in their communities, noting, “It’s an open space.”

Several observers shared how moved they were by the voting process itself, characterized by a spirit of reverence, reliance on God, and humility on the part of both the delegates and those elected to serve.

As the Convention days passed, delegates shared artistic presentations, acknowledging that the arts are a vital part of community life. A small group of delegates and observers composed a song that drew on contributions during the Convention, which they sang on the final day.

In its closing remarks, the National Spiritual Assembly shared its joy:

In your contributions to the consultation , we have heard a “made in Canada” experience of the descriptions in the Riḍván message—how the process of growth continues to advance, the breakthroughs that have occurred in varied climes, where significant progress had not previously been witnessed, as the seed of the Faith has yielded new green shoots and the capacity for working with many souls at once has begun to emerge.  Whether those many souls are the 2000 in Indian Head, Saskatchewan or those in a high density building on Donald Street in Ottawa, you have thrilled us with the ways you are seeing those around you: you have spoken with one voice about the effectiveness of our own process of learning, our own Bolivia and Sydney. The proven strategies and lines of action are being applied to every setting.

In the National Assembly’s annual report, we referred to our sense that Canada is poised: Dr. Noureddin described it so beautifully on the first day of the Convention: that Canada is pregnant…We thought about the prayer that we all know and love, that speaks of blessed spots where the mention of God has been made; the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea and the island and the meadow. All these environments are now becoming havens, where this one divine project is now leading us to raise up a House of Worship that reflects the sacred spaces in homes and families, in hearts and in conversations in every possible setting. How filled with joy we are, to have been with you this weekend. How grateful we are for your gifts of thought and experience.  How our hearts brim with love for you. And how we pray, in the coming year, for your every effort.

The official photo of the delegates to the 75th National Convention of Canada. Photo: Liam Dousti

Photos were taken by Gordon Braithwaite and Eugene Pace with a contribution from Analiza Behbahani.

[1] From the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World, 19 March 2025.

[2] To gain insight into what it means for youth to live a coherent life of service, please refer to the 29 December 2015 message from the Universal House of Justice to the Continental Boards of Counsellors, under the subheading “releasing the potential of youth,” among other guidance.