Strachan was born on April 12, 1778 in Aberdeen, Scotland, the son of John Strachan and his wife, Elizabeth Finlayson. His father died in 1792 from an accident in the granite quarries of which he was an overseer. Thus from an early age young Strachan had to depend upon his own resources and even to assist his mother, whom he loyally aided till her death in 1812.
Strachan graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797.
Strachan emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1799. After teaching school in Kingston, he was ordained in 1803 and appointed curate at Cornwall and then rector of York (now Toronto). He served on the Executive Council of Upper Canada (Ontario), and in 1820 he was appointed to the Legislative Council and became part of the ruling Tory oligarchy. He became archdeacon of York in 1825 and organized the establishment of the University of Toronto in 1827.
Strachan worked to maintain a privileged position for the Church of England in Canada. Adverse criticism led him to resign from the Executive Council. In 1839 he became first bishop of the newly created diocese of Toronto, and he managed to double the number of churches and to establish many schools there. He became president of Kings College in 1843, and, after Kings College was secularized (1849), he established the University of Trinity College in 1851. Strachan created the Anglican synod of clergy and laity in the British colonial empire in 1851. His political power diminished after the granting of responsible government to the colony in 1849.
He was responsible for organizing the church in Canada as a self-governing denomination within the Anglican community.
In Cornwall, Ontario Strachan married Ann McGill née Wood, widow of Andrew McGill, in 1807. Together they had nine children, some of whom died young.
Bishop of Toronto
