Laval, Quebec
Everyone deserves a place to call home. However, for many across the country, home ownership and renting are out of reach due to the housing crisis Canada is facing. We need to build more homes, faster, to get Canadians into homes that meet their needs, at prices they can afford. That's why in Budget 2024 and Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada's Housing Plan, the federal government announced the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history: a plan to build 4 million more homes.
As part of this plan, the Government of Canada is identifying properties within its portfolio that have the potential for housing and is actively adding them to the Canada Public Land Bank. Wherever possible, the government will turn these properties into housing through a long-term lease, to support affordable housing and ensure public land stays public.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant, announced that the Correctional Service Canada will complete its due diligence in April 2025 for the disposal process of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary in Laval, Quebec, and that the property will be transferred to Canada Lands Company (CLC) by the end of 2025, where it will be further developed to benefit Canadians.
The property was added to the Canada Public Land Bank by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) in November 2024. The property will remain on the Canada Public Land Bank following its transfer to CLC. Work will continue between CLC and stakeholders to create a vision for the site.
Through the Canada Public Land Bank, we are providing access in a transparent way to all stakeholders: large developers, small companies, Indigenous communities and organizations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, provinces, territories and municipalities, and Canadian citizens. This allows us to accelerate the federal government's established disposal process. To date, we have received hundreds of initial inquiries for properties currently listed in the land bank. These inquiries span properties located across most provinces and territories.
The Correctional Service Canada will continue to work with PSPC, Justice Canada and CLC to complete the disposal due diligence requirements, including heritage and environmental considerations, by the end of 2025.
