This
remarkable public property,
located within the protected
Mount Royal heritage site,
has been vacant since 2015.
In 2018, the Gouvernement du
Québec mandated the Société
québécoise des
infrastructures (SQI) to
develop a master plan for
its adaptive reuse.
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In 2023, it asked the SQI and
CDPQ Infra to study a proposal
to convert part of the site
into an inter-university
residence complex, a promising
idea put forward during the
public consultations on the
master plan. The government
has now released their
assessment, concluding that
the project’s costs were
beyond its means. However, the
published documents indicate
that the inter-university
housing would represent only a
fraction of the overall work,
estimated at $845 million. The
government will therefore have
to assume a substantial cost
in any case, whether for
student housing or for
condominiums. In this
context, why keep waiting
and let this public heritage
continue to deteriorate?
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Along the Lachine
Canal, Hydro-Québec had
preserved a dozen tall steel
pylons as heritage markers
of Montréal’s
electrification. The
state-owned enterprise is
now dismantling them, citing
safety concerns and
maintenance costs, with the
agreement of Parks Canada
and the arrondissement du
Sud-Ouest.
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At their request, we met with
Parks Canada and Hydro-Québec
and expressed our strong
disappointment at this fait
accompli, their lack of prior
consultation, and their
inconsistency regarding these
exceptional heritage
structures, authentic
landmarks in the industrial
landscape of this national
historic site. Noting the
absence of any educational,
scientific, or artistic reuse
strategy for the dismantled
pylons, we also pointed out
the irony of Hydro-Québec
proposing an “interpretation”
project using digital models
to highlight the significance
of these genuine steel giants
it has caused to disappear. We
asked that the removed pylons
be stored until a real reuse
plan — for example, for
educational, artistic, or
scientific purposes — is
adopted and implemented.
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Following the adoption
of Bill
C-5 in Ottawa and Bill
5 in Toronto to
strengthen the economy, the
Government of Québec has
introduced Bill
5 to accelerate the
issuance of required
approvals for certain
so-called priority or
projects of national
significance.
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Currently under review by
parliamentarians, without any
heritage organization having
been heard, this bill would
allow the Cultural Heritage
Act and the protections it
provides to be bypassed.
Considering that Old Montréal
and Mount Royal, two
exceptional heritage sites
protected under this
legislation, have already been
threatened by projects such as
an elevated expressway, which
would meet the definition of a
priority project, there are
strong grounds for concern.
While Québec stands out for
its legal framework in culture
and heritage, the Québec
Cultural Heritage Act, though
improvable in its
implementation, must be
protected from the arbitrary
exemptions proposed in Bill 5.
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The
OCPM endorses the joint
request of Mémoires du Mile
End and Héritage Montréal by
recommending that the building
be designated under the
Cultural Heritage Act. It also
puts forward useful
recommendations regarding
artists’ studios and the use
of innovative tools such as
social utility trusts. We hope
that the Ville de Montréal
will follow through on the
recommendations arising from
this well-attended
consultation.
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The
report in La Presse
of a lawsuit brought by
a parish and the archdiocese
seeking the right to
demolish a heritage church
has served as a reminder
that religious heritage,
particularly places of
worship and sites belonging
to religious communities,
urgently requires sustained
attention and a
comprehensive strategy
regarding its future and its
contribution to the
collective life of our
neighbourhoods and the
metropolis.
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In June 2025, the Minister of
Culture suspended the
assistance programs for the
rehabilitation of these
heritage buildings and created
a committee to develop options
and recommendations. For its
part, the Ville de Montréal,
where hundreds of such
heritage buildings are
located, launched a pilot
project in the arrondissement
de Ville-Marie. Beyond these
individual initiatives, it is
high time to hold a public
discussion on this major
heritage issue. In short, the
Office de consultation
publique de Montréal should be
mandated to conduct a timely
consultation, open to the
entire population and capable
of laying the groundwork for
coherent and forward-looking
action.
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Héritage
Montréal has submitted a
brief as part of the ongoing
pre-budget consultations.
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In light of the major current
and future challenges facing
heritage, we called on the
Gouvernement du Québec to
urgently undertake a review of
the funding and taxation
framework affecting heritage
actions and stakeholders,
similar to the exercise
conducted in 2012 on cultural
philanthropy. As the
inventories required by law
will soon be completed, we
also put forward concrete
proposals so that, through its
2026-2027 budget, Québec will
encourage the adaptive reuse
of built heritage (tax
measures, revisions to
building codes, etc.),
recognize and mobilize
heritage expertise, and
adequately support
organizations such as Héritage
Montréal, which public
authorities increasingly rely
upon.
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If
you’ve made it to the end of
this newsletter Sam, there’s
no doubt that Montréal’s
heritage matters to you.
Thank you!
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Behind Héritage Montréal is a
small, dedicated team that,
every day, documents,
intervenes, and responds to
concerned residents about
places they care deeply about.
Your donations give us the
concrete means to continue
this work. Thank you for
helping us look after
Montréal’s heritage.
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Fondation
Héritage Montréal
480-3575 Saint-Laurent,
Montréal, Québec H2X 2T7,
Canada
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Photos:
(1) Héritage Montréal; (2)
arrondissement du Sud-Ouest;
(4) Héritage Montréal; (5)
Khayman, Wikimedia Commons;
(6) Dannykronstrom, Wikimedia
Commons, with montage.
© Fondation Héritage Montréal,
2026. All rights reserved.
Registered charity number:
118923218RR0001.
“Héritage
Montréal™”, “At the Heart of
the City™” and
“Visites Entretiens™”,
and their respective logos,
are trademarks of the
Fondation Héritage Montréal. “ArchitecTours®”
and “Memento®”
are registered trademarks of
the Fondation Héritage
Montréal.
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