History

Our parish was formed during Canada’s Centennial Year. It was named after St. Jean de Brébeuf and his companions, who gave their lives for the Indigenous people and the faith. The architectural firm of Stevenson, Raines, Barrett, Hutton, Seton and Partners drew up plans in the Fall of 1967. Construction started on July 29, 1968, and the cornerstone was laid on a -37°C day, December 29. The church was blessed on July 27, 1969 by Bishop Paul O’Byrne. The mortgage was paid after 10 years and a mortgage burning party took place at Mount St. Francis Retreat in Cochrane.

As the neighbourhood grew, so did parish numbers, but by the early 1980’s, the creation of Nose Hill Park, instead of residential development, limited population growth. Children from the original neighbourhood grew up and moved away. By 1996, the parish had more families than when it started, but fewer total members.

As a small parish, Canadian Martyrs became a haven for older priests nearing retirement. From 2003-2015, the parish focused on an older demographic, but in 2016, to meet the needs of younger families who now choose our parish, a younger priest, Fr. Vincent TuanHa, was assigned as pastor. He served until Fr. Ed Hospet took over as pastor from August 2020 until March 29, 2022. From April 8 to July 31, 2022, Fr. Rowel ‘Arjay’ Abanto served as parish administrator. On August 1, 2022, Fr. Cuong Luong (pictured) became our new parish priest.

A Deeper Dive

An 18-minute podcast (generated using Google NotebookLM) explores the results of the 2024 Parish Pastoral Survey. We hope you enjoy learning about our parish and how you can be part of our community. We welcome you warmly, always!