Former prison in Quebec to become affordable housing
Global News
The St-Vincent penitentiary will be transferred by the end of 2025 to the Canada Lands Company for the development.
An old prison in Laval, Que., will be turned into affordable housing, the Government of Canada has confirmed.
In a press release Saturday, federal Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos said the St-Vincent penitentiary will be transferred by the end of 2025 to the Canada Lands Company for the development of the housing project along with the creation of community spaces.
The Canada Public Land Bank, launched in August 2024, is part of the federal Public Lands for Homes Plan, which aims to turn surplus and underused public lands into affordable housing options.
Correctional Service Canada will complete its due diligence in April 2025 for the disposal process, the release said.
“It will be developed in a way to provide socio-economic benefits for Canadians. This is one example of how our whole-of-government approach is addressing the country’s housing crisis.”
“This is the first step in making it official that the site will be redeveloped, and that’s excellent news,” said Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer. “This is a file we’ve been working on for years, and it was the priority topic of our first meeting between Prime Minister Trudeau and myself.”
Built in 1873, the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary was formerly the site of a Sisters of Providence Sacred Heart Convent. In 1861, the Government of Canada East purchased the site to establish a reform school.
Later in 1872, the federal government purchased it from the Province of Quebec and renovated it for use as a federal penitentiary. For many years it was the only French-language correctional facility in the country, according to the Canada National Trust website.
The U.S. stock market was sinking further Tuesday after Trump said he would double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, continuing a more than week-long downward trend.
The campaign said as part of a "full and robust conflict of interest management plan," Carney has divested all of his assets other than personal real estate into a blind trust.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics take place from Feb. 6 to 22.
According to the Aluminum Association of Canada, the United States relies on Canada for 75 per cent of its imported primary aluminum.
An Ontario court has struck down social media giants' motion to dismiss a case brought forward by several school boards that alleges their platforms disrupt student learning.
Only two of the candidates in the Liberal leadership race — Mark Carney and Ruby Dhalla — disclosed their fundraising events to Elections Canada.
A dispute over who should pay the cost of protecting the narrow low-lying strip of land that links Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
New Brunswick snowbird couple contemplates skipping Florida winter retreat as political climate between Canada and the U.S. intensifies.
Leaders suffering recent polling slumps have seen their popularity rebound since Trump returned to the White House in January, according to recent polls.
Farming advocate Gagan Singh says many in the B.C. agriculture industry are struggling to survive due to a number of factors, with the biggest being the high cost of farming.
For some, menstruation is a life-giving gift — for others, it's sheer hell. For too long, women have been sitting in silent, crippling monthly agony that far exceeds what's normal.
China announced the retaliatory tariffs in response to the Canadian surtax of 100 per cent on all Chinese-made electric vehicles, and of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum.
The Golden Eagle Express at Kicking Horse Resort near Revelstoke has been shut down for the day after a gondola car fell to the ground and several people received minor injuries.