Canada, Quebec commit $6.2 million to renovate Montreal’s celebrated Centaur Theatre

Advertisement

Advertise with us

MONTREAL - The governments of Canada and Quebec are committing a combined $6.2 million to renovate Montreal's Centaur Theatre, an English-language community institution in the city's historic district.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/01/2024 (990 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL – The governments of Canada and Quebec are committing a combined $6.2 million to renovate Montreal’s Centaur Theatre, an English-language community institution in the city’s historic district.

Officials say the funding package — $2.2 million from Ottawa and $4 million from the province — will enable the theatre to replace its plumbing, repair its foundation and improve accessibility, among other upgrades.

The Centaur Theatre, founded in 1969, is located in a distinctive porticoed building in Old Montreal that was once home to Canada’s first stock exchange.

The governments of Canada and Quebec are committing a combined $6.2 million to fund a renovation of Montreal's Centaur Theatre, an anglophone institution in the city's Old Montreal neighbourhood. Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonault, left, and Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard shake hands after a funding announcement for the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
The governments of Canada and Quebec are committing a combined $6.2 million to fund a renovation of Montreal's Centaur Theatre, an anglophone institution in the city's Old Montreal neighbourhood. Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonault, left, and Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard shake hands after a funding announcement for the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

A news release from the federal Heritage Department notes the theatre also plans to raise its roof height to make room for new stage equipment.

Centaur Theatre artistic director Eda Holmes and executive director Hélène Turp say the project offers a “brilliantly creative” future for the institution.

Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe says the funding will ensure the building’s longevity and preserve the province’s architectural heritage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Creative powerhouse Perry Rosemond never lost Winnipeg roots

Ben Waldman 7 minute read Preview

Creative powerhouse Perry Rosemond never lost Winnipeg roots

Ben Waldman 7 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

He created King of Kensington, directed the troops in the Royal Canadian Air Farce, and his creative eye was behind the lens for television shows starring Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, Mr. Dress-Up and the Friendly Giant.

He also wrote and developed the Canadian version of Sesame Street during his time as the head of school and preschool programming for CBC in Toronto, and directed a televised special in 2002 for Winnipeg sketch comedy troupe Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company.

But before his name featured in the credits of some of the most iconic and influential pieces of the Cancon canon, Perry Rosemond was an only child living in a crammed, multi-generational home in Winnipeg’s North End, racing each day to beat the morning bell next door at William Whyte School.

In memoirs that have yet to be published, the late television producer recalled his childhood. “(T)here were 14 of us in the house at 193 Andrews St., and it wasn’t that big of a house,” he writes.

Read
6:00 AM CDT

Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea

Editorial 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Let’s make a prediction: sooner or later, when Canadian governments find a way to take their own cut of the action, prediction-contract gambling on everything from sports to entertainment to political decisions is going to come to Canada.

And that’s a horrible, dangerous, pernicious idea.

Unless you have particular access to information — either inside information or strategic information based on skills or education — you’re not likely to make money at it. In fact, structurally, you’re likely to lose. In prediction markets, you basically pay an amount, plus fees from the company involved, to bet on whether something will or will not happen within a certain time frame. The amount you pay for your contract depends on how other people are also betting.

As Wealthsimple describes it, “You buy whichever side you think is right. Prices move with demand, so if the market leans towards one outcome, the more that side costs. If a lot of people are backing the TSX to finish above 38,000, yes gets more expensive and no gets cheaper.”

Read
2:01 AM CDT

’Disgusting’ posters being investigated by police

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read 2:22 PM CDT

The Winnipeg Police Service major crimes unit is investigating what some have labelled offensive and hateful posters on full-display at a Winnipeg home.

One of the people irked by the display is Gracie Garrett. She’s has lived on Ashburn Street in Winnipeg’s Minto neighbourhood for almost ten years. She’s never felt unsafe in the neighbourhood before, but now, a set of posters plastered on a nearby house are making her feel uneasy.

The five signs, posted facing the street prominently on a front window, contain a slur, refer to Nazis as “heroes” and call Muslims, Christians and other groups “evil.”

Learning of the signs Friday, Garrett said she’ll be reporting the posters to police, as she worries they incite and promote violence.

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Preview

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

Read
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

Volunteer pop-up library axed from Manitoba Youth Centre

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Preview

Volunteer pop-up library axed from Manitoba Youth Centre

Matthew Frank 4 minute read Updated: 11:25 AM CDT

Manitoba Corrections has cancelled a pop-up library program at the Manitoba Youth Centre, leaving inmates without librarian services and fewer options to borrow certain books.

The Prison Libraries Committee, part of the non-profit Manitoba Library Association, operated and funded the volunteer program since 2024 before it was shut down by the province last month. The group previously partnered with the province to offer the service because the facility has no dedicated library of its own.

“It is concerning that community members who are incarcerated, especially youth, are losing out on meaningful programming, access to information and rehabilitation efforts, which are offered at no cost to (Manitoba) Corrections. We urge Manitoba Justice to promote more library services and programming, not less,” said a Sept. 24 letter from the non-profit addressed to the justice minister.

Ashley Huot, chair of the Prison Libraries Committee, said she was puzzled when she received an email last month from Manitoba Corrections stating that the pop-up library was no longer needed.

Read
Updated: 11:25 AM CDT

Manitoban Kent Monkman debuts beaver sculpture in Toronto’s ambitious new waterfront park

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Manitoban Kent Monkman debuts beaver sculpture in Toronto’s ambitious new waterfront park

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Updated: 9:17 AM CDT

TORONTO - Kent Monkman’s first-ever public art installation is dam good.

The celebrated Cree artist’s new permanent sculpture, dubbed “The Colony,” debuts Wednesday in Toronto’s east end.

The 15-foot-high bronze structure features beavers dancing, feasting and celebrating, evoking Indigenous ceremonies.

It highlights the vital role of beavers in the natural, Indigenous and colonial histories of Turtle Island, says a release.

Read
Updated: 9:17 AM CDT