27 March 2026
Montreal, Québec
In the afternoon of Thursday, 27 March, Mawlana Hazar Imam participated in a groundbreaking ceremony of Laval Jamatkhana in Québec. The event brought together local community and civic leaders to mark the start of construction on a project years in the making.
The Laval Jamatkhana is designed as a community centre and congregation hub, developed in consultation with the City of Laval, local residents, and community stakeholders. It will house space for cultural programming, indoor athletics, performing arts, and civic dialogue.
Built using mass-timber construction and Passive House design principles, the facility is intended to achieve net-zero energy performance and to support biodiversity through its landscaping. The project will transform what was previously a vacant site into a sustainable community landmark.
Within Canada, Québec is home to a large Ismaili population, many of whom arrived in the 1970s. Over the past five decades, the community has become a familiar part of Canadian civic life — in business, public service, and the arts. In Laval specifically, that presence has continued to expand, making the case for a dedicated facility both practical and timely.
“Today, the Ismaili community in Québec is actively engaged across all areas of society,” said Nilab Ferooz, President of the Ismaili Council for Québec and the Maritimes. “Our community contributes meaningfully to the cultural, economic, and social fabric of this province. We are proud to count among us entrepreneurs, educators, health professionals, public servants, and deeply engaged citizens.”
“Today, we are not merely laying a cornerstone or pouring concrete. We are building a bridge between cultures and generations,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Finance and National Revenue. “This is an ambitious project that embodies what the Ismaili community has brought to Québec and Canada for more than fifty years: inclusion, innovation, service, and pluralism.”
In attendance were national and provincial leaders of the Jamat, volunteers, and supporters. In his remarks, Mawlana Hazar Imam thanked them for the project’s progress thus far and looked forward to its completion.
“I’m grateful to all of you,” he said, “for doing what our community is supposed to do, which is to enrich, and to serve, and to help make colourful the societies in which we live.”
Additional photos at TheIsmaili
Ismailimail 