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.”
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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.
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“The first offenders, officers and their families were transferred to Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary by steamship from the Kingston Penitentiary on May 19, 1873,” says the government release.
The prison ceased operating as a federal correctional facility and was declared a surplus asset in 1989. The property was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.
The Canada National Trust site says the prison became world famous after the army was called there in 1962 to put down a riot.
Since the launch of the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024, the government says it has identified almost 100 properties as being available for potential development.
A similar project is being discussed in Ontario. In January, the federal government revealed that Kingston Pen — a former maximum-security prison that has held infamous criminals like Paul Bernardo — has the potential to become housing.
— with files from La Press Canadienne and Aaron D’Andrea
