London, Ontario, July 13 – The Right Reverend Linda Nicholls, Bishop of Huron, was elected Saturday, July 13 as the 14th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

She is the first woman to assume the role of the head of the Anglican Church of Canada and only the second woman in the entire Anglican Communion to lead a national church.

Bishop Nicholls was elected among five candidates after the fourth ballot at the triennial General Synod meeting in Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver. More than 250 delegates – lay people, deacons and priests – casted their votes.

Bishop Nicholls succeeds the current Primate of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, who had announced in January 2018 that he would retire on the last day of the General Synod after 12 years at the helm of the Anglican Church of Canada. On the same day, Tuesday, July 16, Bishop Nicholls will be installed as the new Primate. By the church canons she is required to resign from her current diocese within 90 days from election.

Rt. Rev. Nicholls was also the first woman to serve as the Bishop of Huron. She was elected Bishop of Huron in February 2016 and enthroned in November 2016.