George Jehoshophat Mountain was born in Norwich, England 27 July 1789 the second child of Jacob Mountain who became the first Bishop of Quebec when his son was 4.
George Mountain grew up in Woodfield, Quebec and left to attended Trinity College, Cambridge returning to Canada in 1811. His father ordained him as priest in 1814 and for 2 years he served as rector of Frederiction. He returned to Quebec to assist his father and when Jacob Mountain died in 1825, George Mountain continued in that role for the new Bishop, Charles Stewart.
When Bishop Stewart’s health was failing George Mountain was appointed coadjutor in 1835 and with the Bishop’s death the following year George Mountain became Bishop. As coadjutor Dr Mountain was given the title of Bishop of Montreal and it was under this title he was consecrated. At the time there were 85 clergy in the diocese, 17 in the district of Quebec, 17 in Montreal and 51 in Upper Canada. In 1839 Diocese was sub-divided with the Diocese of Toronto being formed to cover Upper Canada.
The Bishop had always travelled extensively and in 1844 with 14 voyageurs he undertook an 1800 mile journey by canoe to Red River, Rupert’s Land.
After returning from Red River construction of Bishop’s College Lennoxville began. It became a university in 1853.
In 1850 Montreal was established as a separate diocese and George Mountain assumed his proper title of Bishop of Quebec.
It was during Bishop Mountain’s episcopate that the Diocese became financially self-reliant. Beginning in 1856, over 3 years, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel stopped paying the clergy. With the separation of church and state the Anglican Church in Canada assumed its own affairs and on July 6, 1859 the Sysnod was called.
George Mountain died January 6, 1863.