As a teenager, he was impressed by Anglo-Catholic liturgy and provided services to the Christ Church Cathedral (Vancouver), then entered the university, and became more interested in religious life and decided to seek ordination to the priesthood.
After graduating, Wilkinson received a permit from the Anglican bishop of British Columbia to enter an Anglo-Catholic seminary in England run by the Community of the Resurrection religious order.
In addition, he realized that the changes that took place in England were also happening in Canada: women ordained as priests, the church recognized divorced and remarried people and "gender neutral" language was becoming common in liturgies.
On 21 October 1999, Wilkinson was consecrated as a bishop and wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger to explain that "the basis of his teaching is the catechism of the Catholic Church" and "his desire to return to full communion with the Holy See".
On April 15, he made his profession of faith and received communion for the first time as a Catholic, along with Carl Reid, at a ceremony officiated by Monsignor Richard Gagnon at St Andrew's Cathedral in Victoria.