The first Church of the Nazarene in Canada was organized in 1902 at Oxford, Nova Scotia. It began as a member of the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America but merged with the Church of the Nazarene and Holiness Church of Christ in 1907. Members of that congregation moved to Calgary, Alberta and joined other holiness believers to form the Calgary Holiness Association. Upon hearing about the Holiness Association, Dr. P. F. Bresee of Los Angeles sent a representative to Calgary to meet with the group and by August 1911 the first Nazarene Church in the west was organized with Thomas Bell as pastor. A Holiness movement in Victoria, under the leadership of Rev. G. S Hunt, followed in 1912. L. J. King, the converted Catholic Priest from Oxford, Nova Scotia who started the work of the Church of the Nazarene there, held revival meetings in Windsor Ontario in 1919. In 1920, Rev. C. L. Bradley, district superintendent of the Michigan district, organized the first Nazarene church in Ontario.

From their beginnings, the Maritime Provinces and Alberta were organized as their own districts, the Northeast District (1908) and Alberta District (1911). The churches in British Columbia had a variety of district organizational structures but became their own entity, Canada Pacific District, in 1956. The Manitoba-Saskatchewan District was organized in 1916 but joined with Alberta in 1948 to create the Canada West District. Ontario fell under the jurisdiction of the Michigan-Ontario District until 1936 but it was not until 1952 that it adopted its current title, Canada Central District. The Maritime Provinces, including Newfoundland –Labrador have since adopted the title Canada Atlantic District and Quebec is now its own district, Canada Quebec District.

The Canadian districts, sensing the need for national incorporation, established the Executive Board of the Church of the Nazarene by Act of Parliament in 1946. In 1960, all the Canadian districts sent resolutions to the General Assembly requesting that Canada become its own educational region. This was granted and as a result Canadian Nazarene College moved to Winnipeg and became the national school. The General church regionalized in 1980 making Canada its own region and the only region to have a National Executive Board.

In 1967, Crusade Evangelism of Canada (founded by Barry Moore in 1959 or 1960) became Crusade Evangelism International (C. E. I.), reflecting the widening geographical scope of its efforts.On 16 October 1981 Crusade Evangelism International became Barry Moore Ministries Inc.

In 1959 or 1960 Barry Moore began Crusade Evangelism of Canada, the first inter-denominational Canadian-based evangelistic association. He travelled throughout Canada and the United States conducting “crusades”—multiple-day and sometimes week-long events involving music and preaching. In 1967, the organization became Crusade Evangelism International (C. E. I.), reflecting the widening geographical scope of its efforts.

Northern Bible College was a ministerial training college of the Canada (educational) Region of the Church of the Nazarene. The first classes of its "progenitor institution", Calgary Bible Institute, were held in 1921 in Calgary, AB. In 1927, under the leadership of its first president Charles E. Thomson, the school relocated to Red Deer, AB and adopted the name Alberta School of Evangelism. By 1929 the school purchased property on Gaetz Avenue in Red Deer, began building a new campus and adopted a new name, Northern Bible College. NBC offered both high school and college programs. In 1940, NBC, following the pattern of its American counterparts, took the name Canadian Nazarene College and granted its first Bachelor of Theology Degree in 1941. With the creation, by the Nazarene Church, of an All-Canada Region, CNC attempted to centralize by moving the campus to Winnipeg in 1961. During its time in Winnipeg, CNC became an affiliate teaching centre for the University of Manitoba, enabling the college to teach university accredited courses. Facing a decline in enrolment, in 1995 CNC relocated back to the city of its birth, Calgary, AB, where it leased office space in the downtown core. In 1999 CNC became an accredited university college with its own degree granting status. With this change CNC was renamed Canadian Nazarene University College (NUC).

In 2003 Nazarene University College began a joint university college venture with Canadian Bible College/Canadian Theological Seminary, two institutions of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (CMAC), on a shared campus in downtown Calgary. The new CMAC university college was officially designated Alliance University College in 2004. The joint university college took the name Alliance University College/Nazarene University College. The two institutions officially merged to form Ambrose University College on 1 May 2007. Ambrose University College became Ambrose University on 1 July 2014.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) is an evangelical Christian denomination dedicated to the promulgation of the fourfold Gospel. Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. It is rooted in the vision of a Canadian Presbyterian minister, A. B. (Albert Benjamin) Simpson (1843-1919). After serving prestigious pastorates in Louisville KY (1874-1879) and New York City (1879-1881) Simpson left the Presbyterian Church to found a ministry in New York City to “the poor and neglected masses.” The fruit of these labors was the Gospel Tabernacle. Out of the Gospel Tabernacle emerged two fraternal organizations for the promotion of evangelism and “the higher Christian life.”

The International Missionary Alliance (IMA) was founded in 1887 as the Evangelical Missionary Alliance (EMA). Its major object was "to carry the Gospel 'to all nations', with special reference to the need of the destitute and unoccupied fields." It sought "to unite all Christians of evangelical denominations in its work." The organization’s name was changed to the International Missionary Alliance on its incorporation in November 1887 (Alliance Yearbook 1888, p. 52-55).

The Christian Alliance, which was also founded in 1887, saw itself as a "fraternal union of believers in cordial harmony with evangelical Christians of every name." It was responsible to hold annual conventions and form local "branches". These were seen as fellowships, not as churches, for the purpose of bearing testimony to the Fourfold Gospel, diffusing its truths, providing community for those who believed them, and praying for the evangelization of the world. (Alliance Yearbook 1888, p. 48-51).

On 31 March, 1897, the boards of the two organizations authorized a merger; it was made law on 1 April 1897 by a special act of the New York legislature and ratified by a special convention held 14-18 April at the Gospel Tabernacle. The aims of the newly-minted Christian and Missionary Alliance combined those of the original bodies: (as stated by the Fraternal Letter that resulted from the 1898 annual convention) the C&MA was "to preach a full Gospel at home and send missionaries; to carry the same glad tidings to the unevangelized regions beyond; to preserve our non-sectarian and interdenominational attitude; to study to confine the [administrative] machinery to that which is necessary…." (Pardington, George P. Twenty-five Wonderful Years, p. 74, 75).

By the 1920s the C&MA had taken root in both the United States and Canada. The best-known figure in the C&MA in the post-Simpson era was A. W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer (1898-1963), whose devotional writings had an influence far beyond the Alliance. The C&MA officially became a denomination in 1974. Its missionary efforts have been quite successful: the Alliance now has around 6 million adherents worldwide, of whom only about 600,000 reside in Canada or the United States. The Alliance World Fellowship (AWF), a non-legislative body, was formed in 1975 "to facilitate cooperation among [these] churches as they work for the fulfillment of the Great Commission" (AWF website).

The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (CMAC) is an evangelical denomination rooted in the vision of a Canadian Presbyterian minister, A. B. (Albert Benjamin) Simpson (1843-1919). After serving prestigious pastorates in Louisville KY (1874-1879) and New York City (1879-1881) Simpson left the Presbyterian Church to found a ministry in New York City to “the poor and neglected masses.” The fruit of these labors was the Gospel Tabernacle. Out of the Gospel Tabernacle emerged two fraternal organizations for the promotion of evangelism and “the higher Christian life”: The Christian Alliance, for North American initiatives, and the Evangelical Missionary Alliance (later the International Missionary Alliance) for mission work—both of which began in 1887. That same year, John Salmon founded Bethany Chapel, an independent work along the same lines, in Toronto. Shortly thereafter it became affiliated with the Christian Alliance. By 1889 other what became the first Alliance church in Canada, Bethany Tabernacle, in Toronto. By the 1920s the C&MA had taken root in both the United States and Canada. The best-known figure in the C&MA in the post-Simpson era was A. W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer (1898-1963), whose devotional writings had an influence far beyond the Alliance.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Canadian C&MA churches began to advocate for autonomy from the American church. At the same time, The Christian and Missionary Alliance wanted its Canadian churches to have a national identity, so it proposed that they be incorporated as a national body. The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada was officially incorporated in Canada on 29 May 1972. It became known as the "Canadian Corporation," and its chief role was to serve as a liaison for Canadian affairs with the Division of North American Ministries of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. The movement for self-government continued to gain momentum, and autonomy was finally achieved on 1 January 1981. The CMAC established its own missionary sending agency in 1998. The presidents of the denomination to date have been, Melvin P. Sylvester (1981-1992), Arnold Cook (1992-2000), Franklin Pyles (2000-2012), and David Hearn (2012-present). The American C&MA and the CMAC continue to maintain a close collaborative relationship.
The CMAC is committed to: the glory of the triune God, the authority of the Bible, Christ-centred living, the Church, evangelization (both at home and abroad) leadership, strategic cooperation, social responsibility, stewardship, and prayer.
From the beginning, the organization has been fervent about ministry and mission work, both overseas and at home. In the early years, saddle-bag preachers visited homesteads in Western Canada, while evangelists conducted large-scale campaigns in the East. By 1926, there were 23 churches in Canada, and by 2013 at least 430 (including many multicultural congregations), with more than 106,000 adherents. These local churches are organized by geographic region: the Canadian Pacific District (CPD), covering British Columbia and the Yukon; the Western Canadian District (WCD), encompassing Alberta and the Northwest Territories; the Canadian Midwest District (CMD), serving Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the portion of Ontario west of the 90th meridian, and Nunavut; the Central Canadian District (CCD) for Western Ontario; the St. Lawrence District (SLD) for Quebec; and the Eastern Canadian District (ECD), covering eastern Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces. The District Superintendent for each region works with a team to provide churches with resources and guidance “in the areas of church growth, leadership, Christian education, missions conferences, multicultural ministries, pastoral care, and church planting. The district office also oversees the licensing, ordination and supervision of its workers.” Canadian ministries highlight the needs of men, women, youth, children, and multicultural congregations. The CMAC is involved in justice and compassion work in Canada and in dozens of countries around the world.
The need for trained workers led to the establishment of the Western Canadian Bible Institute in Regina in 1941. Currently, most CMAC leaders are trained at one of two affiliated institutions: Ambrose University College, The Christian and Missionary Alliance Bible College and Seminary, in Calgary; or or ÉTEQ (École de théologie évangélique du Québec) a Montreal-based Bible college (a joint venture with the Mennonite Brethren) for workers going into French-speaking communities. In 2004, the international ministries were organized into the Four “S” Ventures: Asian Spice; Caribbean Sun (Central and South America); Desert Sand (the arid Muslim countries of North Africa); and Silk Road (from Turkey to Iran and Tajikistan to northwest China). Canadian Alliance churches are actively involved in supporting their missionaries and ministries both financially and in prayer, aiming to empower all members as emissaries of Christ. The head office of the CMAC is in Toronto.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance-Canadian Midwest District was created to accommodate the growth of The Christian and Missionary Alliance-Western Canadian District, which by 1960 had exceeded the capacity of one administrator to run. Unsuccessful in his attempts to obtain an assistant, district superintendent Roy McIntyre welcomed the decision of the Home Department to divide the district.

The new district encompassed Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and that part of Ontario and the Northwest Territories lying between the 88th and 110th meridians and included 39 churches. At the 1963 conference of the Western Canadian District, Rev. Alf H. Orthner was selected as its founding superintendent.

At its inception on 1 January 1964, the district had its office at Canadian Bible College. Soon thereafter, a house was purchased on Parliament Street and for the next eleven years it served as the district parsonage and office.

The first district conference was held in Morden, Manitoba in September 1964. It was attended by Home Secretary Leslie W. Pippert. At this meeting Melvin P. Sylvester was elected as district secretary and Clare Heagy as district treasurer.

In 1981, like the rest of its Canadian counterparts, the district came under the authority of the newly founded autonomous (independent from The Christian and Missionary Alliance (U.S.)) Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. The Christian and Missionary Alliance-Canadian Midwest District now incorporates Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario west of the 90th meridian, and Nunavut.

The Eastern and Central Canadian Districts of the Christian and Missionary Alliance came into existence in 1925 as two distinct entities. Prior to this date, the whole of Canada (with the exception of British Columbia) was considered and managed as one district. The newly created Central District would run from Fort William (Thunder Bay), Ontario to the Quebec – New Brunswick border. The Eastern District would comprise the Maritime Provinces. However, only a month after the new districts were formed, it was decided by the Home Department that the current missionary offerings from the Maritimes was not sufficient to justify the appointment of a separate superintendent for that area, and thus the work in the Maritimes would have to be carried out by the Central District. Therefore, the combined effort came to be known as the Eastern and Central District, and included the vast and diverse region of the whole of Canada east of Fort William, Ontario.

Home Secretary E. J. Richards became titular superintendent of the new district from New York, with Lionel Watson acting as resident assistant superintendent and administrator from Toronto. A year later, in May of 1926, O. J. Smith became superintendent of the combined districts only to resign eight months later. Three months following Smith’s resignation, the annual district conference elected Lionel Watson to the position. Watson served as superintendent for one year, after which he was followed in 1928 by the highly qualified and experienced J. D. Williams. After serving diligently for nearly six years (the last of those years as acting superintendent of the Western Canadian District as well), Williams was appointed superintendent of the Pacific Northwest District in May, 1934. James F. Brabazon, a long time missionary to India, was appointed temporary superintendent in his stead. A year later, Brabazon returned to India, and David Mason, a veteran missionary and co-secretary of the Foreign Department, was assigned to the vacant position. During Mason’s eleven-year superintendency, the Eastern and Central District remained essentially stagnant both numerically and financially. In 1946, Nathan Bailey took the reigns of the district. During his fourteen years at the helm, the Eastern and Central District experienced its highest ever growth rate over a fourteen-year period. In 1960, Bailey was elected president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In his place, William J. Newell, associate pastor of Avenue Road Church, was selected. Newell provided leadership for the district until 1973 when he stepped down in order to become executive director of World Vision International of Canada. Long time Alliance pastor Melvin P. Sylvester was elected at the 1973 district conference to become the next superintendent. During Sylvester’s seven year term as district superintendent, he provided much of the leadership in the movement towards Canadian autonomy. In June of 1980, he resigned from the position in order to become the first president of the newly autonomous Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. Robert Gould, previously superintendent of the Canadian Midwest District, took Sylvester’s place beginning in March of 1981.

In May of 1983, a long standing dream among many became a reality when the Alliance community in Quebec broke off from the Eastern and Central District in order to form the St. Lawrence District. The newly created district would be headquartered Ste. Foy, Quebec, and Jesse D. Jespersen was elected as its first district superintendent.

In 1995, The Eastern District, first conceived of in 1925, finally separated from the Central District to became its own district. The Eastern District would include all of the Maritimes, and that part of Ontario which is east of Hwy 427/27 north from Lake Ontario to Hwy 89, east to Lake Simcoe, then along the southern shore of the lake to the 79th meridian, then north to the Quebec border. Douglas Wiebe was named superintendent of the new district, and remains so to this day (2006). The same year, David Lewis replaced Robert Gould as district superintendent for the Central District, and Yvan Fournier replaced Jespersen for the St. Lawrence District.

As of 2006, Fournier remains the superintendent of the St. Lawrence District, while Dr. Ron Bonar has replaced Lewis as the superintendent of the Central District. As of 2005, The Central District had 56 churches within its boundaries, the Eastern District included 72 churches, and the St. Lawrence District had 30.

The Western Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance came into being in May of 1925. Previously, the whole of Canada (with the exception of British Columbia, which was included in the Pacific Northwest District) had been considered one district. During the administration of A. W. Roffe, superintendent of the Alliance District of Canada from 1919-1925, it became clear that the Canadian District was too large to be administered by one man. Roffe’s nervous breakdown in 1925, prompted Home Secretary E. J. Richards to divide Canada into three districts. The “Western Canadian District” was to embrace all of Canada west of Fort William, Ontario, including the North West Territories, with the exception of British Columbia. John H. Woodward was appointed the first district superintendent. In 1930, Woodward moved the district office from Edmonton to Winnipeg.

In the spring of 1931, Woodward stepped down, and a period of stagnation ensued. In 1933 the Home Department concluded that the struggling district should share the services of J. D. Williams, the district superintendent of the thriving Eastern and Central District. Williams became district superintendent of the Pacific Northwest District the following year but remained the titular head of the Western Canadian District until the end of 1936.

In September 1937, Gordon Skitch took over as leader, although the board did not officially instate Skitch as district superintendent until 1943. Skitch moved the district office to Calgary. In 1938, the bi-monthly Western Worker’s Bulletin was launched, and in 1941 Canadian Bible Institute (later renamed Canadian Bible College) was established in Regina.

In March 1936, the boundaries of the district were expanded to include all of British Columbia with the exception of the cities of Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster.

In 1949 Willis Brooks became district superintendent. The following May, the boundaries of the district were expanded again to include the remainder of British Columbia. Brooks was succeeded in 1953 by George Blackett. Roy McIntyre took over from Blackett in January 1960.

In March 1963 the district was divided once again after the creation of the Canadian Midwest District, which included Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and that part of Ontario and the Northwest Territories lying between the 88th and 110th meridians. A further division occurred in January 1979, when British Columbia was released to become the new Canadian Pacific District. In 1980, Harvey A. Town became superintendent of the reorganized Western Canadian District.

In 1981, like the rest of its Canadian counterparts, the district came under the authority of the newly founded autonomous (independent from the United States) Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. In 1990, Town was succeeded by Arnold Downey, who was followed by Ken Driedger in 1999. The Western Canadian District currently oversees 110 churches from Yellowknife to the US border, and the district office remains in Calgary.