The Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax - at a glance



  • First Lebanese settler arrive in Halifax in the late 1800’s.

  • Founding member and first President of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax was Lieutenant Edward Francis Arab.

  • The first meeting of the Society was held on November 13, 1938.

  • In 1953 an Act to incorporate the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax was passed in the Nova Scotia Legislature.

  • In 1959 the Society hosted its first official dinner honouring the visit to Halifax of Dr. Charles Malik, the Lebanese Foreign Minister at the time.

  • In 1966 the first community centre, operated by the Society and known as the Canadian Lebanon Social Club opened and was located on Quinpool Road in Halifax.

  • The Society joined the World Lebanese Cultural Union in 1974 and sent delegates to an international convention hosted by the Union in Chile in 1978.

  • In 1974 the weekly radio program “Journey Into Lebanon” first hit the airwaves and lasted on air for 10 years.

  • In 1977 the Society hosted an event to welcome Sheikh Bashir Gemayel who would, in 1983 become President-Elect of Lebanon.

  • After 15 years of lobbying and with the support of Archbishop James Hayes, the Society was successful in 1979 of having their request for a Maronite Priest assigned to minister to the Maronites in Halifax. This was confirmed with the arrival of Monsignor Kheirallah Aoukar, who founded Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church.

  • In 2018 the Province of Nova Scotia declared November to be “Lebanese Heritage Month” in the province.

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Location
255 Bedford Hwy
Halifax, NS
B3M 2K5
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