The Right Reverend Michael Bird

Bishop Michael served as the eleventh Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara and was consecrated on September 30, 2007. He was ordained a deacon and then a priest in 1984 and for twenty-three years ministred as a parish priest, Regional Dean and Archdeacon in five parishes in Newfoundland and Southern Ontario. 

In accepting his ministry as Bishop, Michael has worked diligently with clergy, lay leaders and members of the church, inviting them all to live out, more and more fully, the diocese’s dynamic and faithful vision for ministry. Bishop Michael is a strong advocate for justice and inclusion in the life of the church and world. 

In 2018, Bishop Michael accepted a new ministry as Archdeacon of Pembroke and Incumbent of the Parish of the Valley in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. In addition to his leadership within the deanery and parish, Bishop Michael continues to be actively involved in our church nationally and worldwide. Most notably, he has been involved in the Consultation of Canadian and African Anglican Bishops in Dialogue since its inception in 2010. This work has taken him to Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, England and the United States. He has also made many visits to Niagara’s partner diocese in Cuba. On June 7, 2020 Bishop Shane Parker was very pleased to appoint Bishop Michael Honourary Assistant Bishop. 

Bishop Michael and his family have had a long association with life in the Madawaska Valley. His parents built their cottage on the Madawaska River when he was one year old and Michael and his wife Susan built a log cabin in the same region in 1998. Five years ago, they sold their cottage and built what was originally intended to be their retirement home on Lake Kamaniskeg, just outside of Barry’s Bay. Michael and Susan have three grown children and are blessed to be grandparents to two grandchildren. They enjoy jazz music, reading, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, boating and travel. While they also share an interest in following a number of sports teams, they have a real passion for the sport of curling.

Bishop Michael concluded his ministry as Archdeacon of Pembroke on March 31st, 2022. On May 29th, 2022 it was announced that Bishop Michael will retire from active ministry effective September 30th, 2022. Bishop Michael's last working day will be August 30th, after which time he will be on annual vacation.