MASONIC CONNECTIONS
The first Masonic lodge in what is now Canada was established in Annapolis Royal , Nova Scotia in 1738 by Major Erasmus James Philipps. He was the father - in - law of Major General Horatio Gates, commander of the Northern Continental Army , to whom Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, 1777 at the Battle of Saratoga . Masonic Monument beside Annapolis Royal Town Hall Gates was born in Maldon, England in 1727. He became an Officer in the British Army and arrived in Halifax around 1749 as an aide to Governor Edward Cornwallis. He served in the French Indian War in North America before selling his commission and starting a plantation in Virginia. During the Americ...