In 1970, Archbishop Vitaly (Ustinov) of Montreal and Canada from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia ordained 37-year-old Dmitry Severa as a priest and appointed him the rector of the community in Ottawa. At that time, the community consisted of a few people, services were held once a month, and a mug was used instead of a censer. Father Dmitry converted a small house into a church, on the second floor of which was an apartment where he lived with his wife Irina and his parents.

Thanks to the enormous efforts of Father Dmitry, the parish grew significantly, services began to be held weekly, and spacious venues were rented for the church. In the late 1980s, the Holy Protection Church was built, and in 1988, the year of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, the first service was held there.

In 1999, the church council decided to come under the leadership of His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Since 2015, the parish has been named the Protection of Kazan Mother of God, in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.