The modern history of Freemasonry starts in 1717 with the creation of the Grand Lodge of England.
Of course that implies that lodges existed before that. The Grand Lodge of Ireland was organized in
1725, the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736. In 1751 a group left the Grand Lodge of England and
formed a rival Grand Lodge of England known as the Ancients (sometimes spelled “Antients”) because
they went back to an older form of ritual. The original Grand Lodge of England is known as the
Moderns. The Moderns and the Ancients amalgamated in 1813 as the United Grand Lodge of England
1 which still exists today. All Freemasons around the world trace back to these four
Grand Lodges:
Grand Lodge of England (Moderns)
Grand Lodge of England (Ancients)
Grand Lodge of Ireland
Grand Lodge of Scotland
Freemasonry made its way to the British colonies in North America, often through the travelling
lodges associated with British army regiments. Gradually Provincial Grand Lodges, subsidiaries of
one of the four British Grand Lodges, were formed. Three are relevant to the development of
Freemasonry in Canada:
PGL of Massachusetts (Moderns)
PGL of New York (Moderns)
PGL of New York (Ancients)
These seven Grand Lodges are important because, in order to exist, a Masonic lodge must hold a warrant from a Grand Lodge. All Canadian lodges received warrants from one of the above seven or from Grand Lodges created by one of the above seven.
The first civilian lodge in Canada was established at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1738 through the PGL of Massachusetts. Quebec City fell to the British in 1759 and within a month six military lodges created the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec under the Grand Lodge of England (Moderns).
References:
(1) www.ugle.org.uk/