On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Montréal Botanical Garden, one of the five most popular gardens in the world, the City of Montréal is pleased to announce an investment of $430 million over 15 years for a major overhaul of its infrastructure. This investment includes $150 million for the construction of new exhibition greenhouses. It will make this immense garden-museum more inclusive and eco-responsible, reinforcing its crucial mission at a time when protecting biodiversity is more important than ever.
Despite its advanced age, this Montreal jewel remains renowned for its beauty and the expertise of its team dedicated to biodiversity conservation. The Botanical Garden, a showcase for Montreal and a world-renowned scientific research center, is in need of a facelift as its century-old facilities reach the end of their useful life.
A garden looking to the future
Founded in 1931, the Botanical Garden is a popular destination for Montrealers. Having attracted over 800,000 visitors in 2024, it is the pride of the metropolis. The ambition of its founder, Brother Marie-Victorin, and its first landscape architect and curator, Henry Teuscher, was to help “the city-dweller rediscover or preserve the salutary link with nature”. The City of Montreal intends to honor this ambition by caring for this jewel and showcasing its rich heritage. Many of its infrastructures, including its greenhouse complex, have suffered the ravages of time. A 15-year plan calls for work to be carried out so that the Jardin can :
- preserve its heritage infrastructures and unique collections, while meeting the needs of the 21st century, notably by offering universal accessibility;
- considerably reduce its GHG emissions, limit its consumption of drinking water and set an example in terms of socio-ecological transition;
- remain a prestigious tourist attraction and maintain its international reputation.
Key projects
Begun in 2022, the first phase of the project - the renovation of the Édifice Marie-Victorin, an example of the Art Deco movement in Quebec - will be completed this year. Then, in 2026-2029, it will be the turn of the six heritage gardens to the west, which are currently being designed. During the same period, with the aim of renewing its offer and broadening its audience, the Botanical Garden will create a new area dedicated exclusively to families, who will be able to get their hands in the soil and discover the world of plants while having fun. Finally, the greenhouse complex will be completely refurbished to make way for an exemplary building dedicated to the conservation of plant biodiversity and the dissemination of knowledge. Renovation work on the greenhouses will be spread over an eight-year period, from 2026 to 2034.
Quotes
“The Montréal Botanical Garden is truly one of our city's jewels, and it's the lifeblood of the East End. We have a responsibility to take care of it, and that's exactly what we're doing with the announcement of these major investments for the coming years. These sums will enable the Botanical Garden to continue to be an exemplary hub of innovation, benefiting families and experts from around the world alike. We're proud to invest in this special place, where nature and people meet and connect,” says Caroline Bourgeois, Vice President of the Executive Committee, responsible for sports and recreation, Espace pour la vie, Parc Jean-Drapeau, the French language and the East End of Montreal.
“Montrealers have a special relationship with the Botanical Garden of Montreal, an essential, unique institution, one of the five Espace pour la vie museums. In synergy with the Olympic Park, Espace pour la vie is a major tourist attraction in the east end of Montreal, a destination in its own right that energizes the area and generates significant economic spin-offs that will exceed $130 million per year for the next few years. Every year, more than 2.5 million tourists and visitors from the Greater Montreal area visit Espace pour la vie museums, 4 of whose 5 institutions are located in the east end of the city,” says Julie Jodoin, Espace pour la vie Director.
“On the eve of its 100th anniversary, the Botanical Garden is resolutely looking to the future. The development of new public spaces and eco-responsible facilities will give it the opportunity to pursue its mission in a coherent way, to update its contribution to the Montreal population and to maintain its international reputation”, expressed Josée Bellemare, Director of the Botanical Garden.
About the Botanical Garden, one of the five Space for Life museums
True to the vision of its founder, Brother Marie-Victorin, and landscape architect, designer and first curator, Henry Teuscher, the Montréal Botanical Garden helps people live in harmony with nature. It contributes to developing the community's autonomy to act in favor of protecting biodiversity and the environment, with a view to a just socio-ecological transition that respects the needs of future generations.
The Montréal Botanical Garden boasts a collection of 20,000 taxa, including species, hybrids and cultivars, 5,300 of which are housed in greenhouses. There are ten exhibition greenhouses, three cultural gardens, the Frédéric-Back Tree House and more than twenty thematic gardens spread over 75 hectares.
SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee
