The history of our church dates back to 1911 when a group of lay people decided they would like to establish a new Anglican church in Pointe-Claire. Its provenance is owed to St. Mary's Church in Beaconsfield, and even earlier to St. Stephen's Church in Lachine which was the mother church of St. Mary's. 

 

In 1912, construction of the Mission Church of Saint John the Baptist was begun on donated farm land on St. Jean Boulevard. This first sanctuary accommodated only forty people and it was not until 1923 that the new congregation became the Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist. The size of the congregation continued to grow and, in 1924, the building and property on St. Jean Boulevard was sold in order to erect a larger structure at the present site on Ste-Claire Avenue. In 1948, a further major expansion became necessary and the building was extended to the east and a church hall was added. The older premises became the Chapel of this new complex. Only the architectural footprint of the 1950s church remains today, which includes the brick wall of the sanctuary, the Reredos and the latticed windows.

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This church remained in use until November, 1992, when an electrical fire sparked the complete destruction of the original church, i.e. the Chapel. The fire spread and destroyed most of the main building and its contents. Following this disaster, temporary premises were found in the former Edgewater Hotel, now demolished, on the banks of the St. Lawrence in Pointe-Claire. A rebuilding strategy was developed and three years later, in September 1995, the first service was held in the reconstructed Church of Saint John the Baptist. This new building follows much the same plan as its predecessor, with a chapel and main nave. The other public spaces have also been replaced according to the general plan which existed before the fire.

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The Chapel is brand new, but the bricks forming the cross come from the old building. The bronze cross was in the original chapel and was burnt black and broken in the fire; it has since been welded and restored. The previous permanent frontal, which was used to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, was consumed in the fire.