Francis Fulford was born in Sidmouth, England 30 June 1803. He was consecrated Bishop of Montreal in Wesminster Abbey 25 July 1850 at the age of 47. At the time he was minister of Curzon Chapel, Mayfair, after being rector at Trowbridge, Wiltshire and at Croydon, Cambridgeshire.
The Diocese of Montreal had been subdivided from the Diocese of Quebec. George J Mountain had been given the title of Bishop of Montreal when he became Coadjuctor Bishop of Quebec, but Francis Fulford was the first bishop of the Diocese of Montreal.
In 1856 the old cathedral was destroyed by fire. The expenditure for the new cathedral, opened in 1859, far exceeded the estimated cost. To help pay the debt, the Bishop reduced his own expenditures by moving into a small house that had been built for the parish school-master.
In 1859 Bishop Fulford was appointed the Metropolitan of Canada. Bishop Fulford was presiding at the first Provincial Synod, where a ‘Pan-Anglican’ Synod was suggested. The first Lambeth Conference was held in 1868 with Bishop Fulford attending.
On his return from the conference in England, a Provincial Synod was held in Montreal during which Bishop Fulford died 9 December 1868.