Common Questions

A Bahá’í Temple or House of Worship is a spiritual gathering place for prayer and reflection that is open to all people, regardless of their own religious or spiritual beliefs. All Bahá’í Temples are designed to have nine sides and be surrounded by pathways leading to gardens and natural areas. The Bahá’í sacred writings require that no sermons or ritual ceremonies are performed in Bahá’í Temples, and regular devotional services feature only the scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions.

There are currently thirteen Bahá’í Temples in the world. Eight of these are continental Houses of Worship, located in the United States, Uganda, Australia, Germany, Panama, Samoa, India, and Chile. Four others are local Houses of Worship, and two others – in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea – are national Houses of Worship.

The distinction between continental, national, and local Houses of Worship is a matter of scale and orientation. The National Bahá’í House of Worship in Canada will be a focal point of worship within the country.

Bahá’í Houses of Worship are open to all. There is no restriction on who may visit.

The proposed height of the Bahá’í House of Worship is between 22 and 25 metres, which is the height of the surrounding trees.

A design has not been chosen for the House of Worship. Hariri Pontarini Architects are the architects of record for the purpose of the planning and rezoning process, and a Temple design will be chosen after the conclusion of that process.

A planning and rezoning application has been submitted to the City of Markham. After it is approved, there will be a firmer timeline for development. Following approval of the rezoning, a Site Plan Application, followed by Building Permits will be submitted to the City. It is anticipated that construction will begin around 2026.

As part of the planning process with the City of Markham, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada has undertaken extensive ecological surveys of the property. The proposal will have no direct impact on significant wildlife habitat (as defined by the province), and extensive measures will be taken to mitigate any indirect impacts. There will be a significant net gain to the ecology of the site and the surrounding area by compensating for tree removals with new plantings of native species of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. More than 4 hectares of land has been proposed for restoration and compensation. The planning for the construction of the Temple includes a 400-year plan for maintaining the area woodlands and trail systems.

Visitors may access the Temple via walking, cycling, transit or driving. The Lake-to-Lake trail extension at the north end of Leslie Street reopened earlier this year. Parking is proposed on site in several locations. Visitors who choose to drive to the Temple can park either at the Bahá’í National Centre or a new parking lot proposed at the entrance to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada property. When necessary, additional parking will be available nearby at the Don Valley Educational Centre at 7015 Leslie Street.

Please write to us at temple@bahai.ca

Visitors are welcome to walk around the Temple site during specified hours. To arrange a visit to the Temple site, please email temple@bahai.ca

There are currently thirteen Bahá’í Temples around the world, some of which are local, national and continental. The distinction between these Bahá’í Houses of Worship is a matter of scale. The national Bahá’í Temple for Canada, as a focal point of worship within the country, will have a more modest structure than continental Temples which are built to welcome a greater number of visitors. Envisioned as a “Temple in the trees”, nestled below the existing tree line, the Bahá’í Temple will welcome the country’s diverse inhabitants as a symbol of the oneness of humankind.