In 1959, The Primate’s World Relief Fund was established by the General Synod, following an emergency response to a mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia in 1958, recognizing the need for an efficient process to channel assistance quickly in situations of emergency.  In 1969, the name of the organization was officially changed to The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund which reflected the agency’s maturing program focus and philosophy.  PWRDF came to see that much deeper, long-term development needs were strongly connected to most of the suffering caused by natural or human-provoked disasters. Even more significantly, PWRDF realized that people who experienced these problems first-hand were in the best position to develop long-term solutions.

The newly renamed Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund moved in the 1970s with a commitment to addressing long-term development needs and to working in partnership with local communities and organizations. During this decade, PWRDF also became more active in public engagement. The Fund recognized the need to engage Canadians in the issues of tackling injustice. The General Synod gave PWRDF the responsibility of coordinating a development education program for the whole Church in order to close the gap between donors and recipients.

In 2001, the PWRDF was separately incorporated from the General Synod and operates under the direction of a Board of Directors.  PWRDF remains the Anglican Church of Canada’s agency for sustainable development and relief with the Primate as its patron. With the support of Anglicans across Canada, PWRDF partners with organizations working to increase healthy pregnancies and births, reduce gender inequality, relieve hunger and break the cycle of poverty in the world’s most vulnerable communities. Against a backdrop of climate change, PWRDF strives to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Fonds consists of corporate documents, minutes and meeting files, project files, program files, promotional resources, and financial records.