Who We Are
Our Story
1985 - The Lord’s Day Act is overturned by the Canadian Supreme Court following several years of a shift in public opinion, public large retail corporations lobbied the government to allow Sunday shopping.
1986 - The Canadian Lord’s Day Association is founded as a non-denominational organization for the purpose of preserving the sanctity of the Lord’s Day. The founding General Council members encouraged their churches and congregations to support this worthy cause, and soon others across Canada followed.
1987 - To oppose Sunday operations, the CLDA dispatched a delegation to the Ontario Parliament Study Committee to present its arguments. One of the initial activities involved advocating against Sunday store openings. This included visits to various stores and businesses to express concerns and encourage adherence to Sunday closing regulations.
1994 - The CLDA starts publishing a bi-annual periodical. The "To Keep It Holy" magazine keeps members up to date on the labours of the CLDA, and provides meaningful articles on the topic of the Lord's Day.
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1996 - A small pocket diary known as "The Daily Diary" is made for distribution to local churches and soon diary distribution in Canadian prisons begins. 4,000 diaries are distributed in the first year. Shortly after, a multi-level Bible Correspondence Course is developed for use by inmates in the prisons to improve their biblical knowledge.
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​Today - The CLDA continues to promote and raise awareness of the need for preserving the sanctity of the Lord's Day across Canada by speaking with individuals, businesses and members of local, provincial, and federal governments about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Our magazine now has a circulation of close to 4,000 copies. Our daily diary ministry has steadily grown to over 170,000 diaries in three different languages being distributed to 50 prisons and 50 supporting churches!
We pray the Lord will turn the hearts of all Canadians to keep His day holy to the welfare of our soul and body, the advantage of our nation, and to the glory of God.
Founding Council Members of 1986
Our Basis
1. Belief in the triune God whose grace is manifested in the love and righteousness of God the Father, the redeeming work of God the Son, and the quickening power of God the Holy Ghost.
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2. Belief in the essential Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Incarnation and Virgin Birth, the truthfulness of all His words, His all sufficient atoning vicarious death upon Calvary for sin, His bodily Resurrection, Ascension, and Coming Again.​
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3. Belief in the whole Bible consisting of the 39 Books of the Old Testament and the 27 Books of the New Testament as the inspired Word of God, and therefore true and Divinely authoritative and as God’s sufficient revelation in all matters of doctrine and practice. (The Authorized or King James Version of the Bible is to be employed for all work and activities of the CLDA.)
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4. Belief that all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God: and in the necessity of the New Birth by the Holy Spirit in those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
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5. Belief in the Divine Authority and perpetual obligation of the Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day and conviction of the necessity that all effectual assertion, observance and defence of the Lord’s Day rest, must be on this basis
6. Belief that in asserting the obligation of the Lord’s Day the Gospel of the grace of God through Jesus Christ should be proclaimed.
General Council
Chairman: John Heikoop
Vice-Chairman: Rev. W. M. Mulder
Secretary: Dick Den Dekker
Treasurer: William Vanderhorst
Herman Visscher
Roland Verhey
Nick Koppelaar
Arie Vande Bruinhorst
Bruce Tian
Darren Scholten
Arie Muilwijk
Edwin Van Deuveren
Rev. E.M. Maljaars
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Office Administrator: Billie-Jo Wagenaar
Our Auxiliaries
Alberta Auxiliary
Chairman: Aris Slingerland
Nico DeWit
Andrew Heyboer
Arie Muilwijk
Arend Pelleboer
Gary Vanderwaal
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British Columbia Auxiliary
Chairman: Bill Klaassen
Peter Droppert