author
John West
1778–1845
An early Anglican missionary, teacher, and reformer, he is remembered for his work in the Red River Colony and for writing a vivid journal of life in British North America. His story connects faith, education, and the beginnings of organized Anglican work in western Canada.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Farnham, Surrey, in November 1778, John West was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and was ordained in the Church of England in 1804. He later became a missionary of the Church Missionary Society and served as chaplain to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
West is best known for his years in the Red River Colony, where he worked as a priest, teacher, and organizer of schools and church life. Sources describe him as the first Anglican priest in western Canada, and his efforts helped lay foundations for what became St John’s Cathedral in Winnipeg. He was also closely involved in missionary work among Indigenous communities and is noted for encouraging Indigenous education.
He wrote The Substance of a Journal During a Residence at the Red River Colony, an important firsthand account of the region in the early 1820s. After returning to England, he continued parish and reform work until his death on December 21, 1845.