'Aging membership, aging buildings:' Some legion branches struggle to keep doors open

The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Montreal's Verdun borough meets once a week in a community centre space it rents by the hour, less than 500 metres from the elegant brick building it sold over a decade ago when maintenance costs got too high.

The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Montreal’s Verdun borough meets once a week in a community centre space it rents by the hour, less than 500 metres from the elegant brick building it sold over a decade ago when maintenance costs got too high.

After years of rising rents, a forced move and general instability, its members are happy to have somewhere to meet. But president Darlene Harrison says one question keeps coming back: “When are we going to have our own home again?”

It's a question she doesn’t know how to answer. She recently went to check out a space, only to find out the rent was $6,700 per month — not including costs like phone and internet.

“All of these things cost money, and until we can generate the funds to cover it, it's really not feasible at this point in time to try to rent a locale,” she said in a recent phone interview.

Her branch isn’t alone. Even as they fundraise for other community organizations, some legions are having trouble keeping their own lights on amid rising inflation and maintenance costs.

The legion in Grenfell, Sask., recently made the same decision as Verdun and listed its building — a former armoury — for sale.

It's a matter of “aging membership and aging buildings,” president Ken Box said. With only about 85 members, many of whom no longer live nearby, keeping the building just didn’t make sense.