In the early 19th century the Order of St. John became singularly devoted to acts of charity and hospital work. In 1877 the Order in England formed the St. John Ambulance Association to teach first aid, provide ambulance transportation, home nursing services and answer other humanitarian needs. In 1888, Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the Order of St. John establishing it as the Grand Priory of England. There are now 8 Priories and 40 Associations with a combined 300,000 members supporting the mission of the Order of St. John.

Worldwide, St. John Ambulance works together to develop community programs, training services, and related products.  We also work to further develop our associations capacity to deliver these services to their communities.  Example of the projects that we currently work on are the following:

Program and Product Development
The Life-saving Program is an internationally standardized program that has been developed through the collaboration of all eight Priories. This program has been adopted throughout the world, especially in developing nations, as an essential tool to teach first aid training.

Regional Meetings
As part of an ongoing program, St. John Ambulance Canada assists in the provision of training during the Regional Conferences organized by the International Secretariat. St. John Ambulance in Canada is partnered with St. John Establishments in the Caribbean including:

Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Bermuda
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Montserrat
Saint Lucia
Trinidad & Tobago

The purpose of regional meetings is to sustain the ongoing training requirements and methodologies in developing countries with the same standards practiced throughout the St. John family. Opportunities are available for instructors to participate in the regional meetings.