William Bennett Bond was born in Truro, Cornwall, England in 1815. At 17 he emigrated to Newfoundland then in 1839 moved to Lower Canada. The following year he was ordained deacon and on 17 Oct 1841 he was ordained priest. He began as a travelling missionary based in Lachine and in 1848 was appointed assistant minister at to St George’s Church, Montreal.
In 1863 he became rector of St George’s and in the same year he was named rural dean of Hochelaga. During his rectorship, St George’s became one of the most important parishes in the country. Many of the leading members of the English-speaking business and professional communities worshipped there. When the decison to build the present St George’s, opened in 1870, he was able to call on the assistance of men such as Andrew Frederick Gault. Gault was later instrumental in saving Trinity Church, Montreal and in building the Theological College.
In 1866 william Bond was made Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal. Canon Bond became Archdeacon in 1971 and was further promoted to Dean in 1874, next in rank to the Bishop. With Bishop Ashton Oxenden resignation, Dean Bond was elected Bishop of Montreal 16 October 1878 receiving 53 clerical votes and 49 lay. Bishop Machray of Rupert’s Land received 26 and 13 votes. The focus of Bond’s episcopate was the development of the church in the diocese of Montreal, its clergy, congregations, and institutions.
In 1901 he was elected metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Canada. In 1904 Archbishop Bond became the second primate of the Canadian church in succession to Archbishop Robert Machray. Beginning in 1902 his coadjutor, James Carmichael, slowly took over many of the bishop’s duties. William Bennett Bond died in 1906 at age 91.