Federal government invests in Montreal Jewish Museum renovation

The federal government is investing more than $3.2 million through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program to renovate the Montreal Jewish Museum (MJM). The investment was announced by Rachel Bendayan, MP for Outremont and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Zev Moses, the museum’s executive director. The building has been closed to the public for almost 30 years. Once renovated, the museum will reopen with a range of flexible, multipurpose spaces.

The ground floor will include an event space, a café-restaurant and a gift shop. The second floor will have a gallery for exhibitions, screenings and events. The third floor will include a food lab, creative workshop spaces, and administrative spaces for the museum and community members. The project is intended to make the entire building accessible to visitors of all ages and backgrounds and give community members opportunities to help create experiences centred on Montreal’s Jewish heritage through art, culture, language, cuisine and history, and on building identity.

The museum is at 5220 St-Laurent Boulevard, where Montreal’s Jewish community first settled at the beginning of the last century. Built in 1914 as a garment factory, the building later housed a synagogue and a Jewish school. From 1984 to 1996, it was home to Le Lux, a restaurant and bar that also sold magazines and candy.

Bendayan, speaking on behalf of Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, said the federal government was proud to invest $3.2 million in the renovation, bringing new life to a piece of the city’s history in Mile End. She said the museum would be a welcoming place for Montreal’s Jewish communities to gather and for people of all backgrounds to discover and celebrate Jewish culture and heritage.

Moses said that 16 years after the launch of the online museum, its vision of an inclusive space connecting Montreal’s Jewish community with the rest of the world was becoming reality at 5220 St-Laurent Boulevard. He said federal funding, combined with support from other partners, would help make the site a hub for Jewish arts, culture and heritage. The museum looks forward to welcoming Montrealers and Canadians from all walks of life when it reopens.

The project’s listed funding is $3,234,476 from the federal government through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program and $1,625,000 from the Museum of Jewish Montreal and other funding sources. The program supports the first pillar of Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and helping build resilience to climate change.

Launched in 2021 with an initial $1.5-billion investment over five years, the program funds green and accessible retrofits, repairs and upgrades to existing public community buildings, as well as construction of new publicly accessible buildings serving high-needs, underserved communities across Canada. Budget 2024 announced another $500 million for projects through the program until 2029. At least 10 per cent of its funding is allocated to projects serving First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, including Indigenous populations in urban centres.

The Government of Canada says it is taking action to strengthen the economy by investing in Canadians and supporting Canadian businesses. It says federal measures are creating good jobs, accelerating homebuilding and helping communities grow across the country.