Immigration Holding Centres (IHC)
There are three official immigration holding centres in Canada:
- The Laval Immigration Holding Centre (living units for men, women and families)
Address: 200 Montée Saint-François, Laval Quebec (approximately 30 kilometers from the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport).
Map : Public transportation route 22, 42 and 52 (stop Lévesque / Montée Saint-François)
Phone number: (450) 661-4717
Visitation hours: Every day: 2 pm to 4 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm
*All visitors are required to show proper identification to guards at reception. Your identification needs to a valid government issued ID and have your name, photo, current address, date of birth and signature. You can also bring two identification documents that have all these elements when combined. Once you arrive to the facility, you will undergo a security screening. Visits take place in an open visitation area.
- The Greater Toronto Area Immigration Holding Centre (living units for men, women and families)
Address: 385 Rexdale Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario (approximately eight kilometers from Pearson International Airport)
Map : Public transportation route 37A(Stop Rexdale Blvd at Tidemore Ave West)
Phone number: (416) 401-8505
Visitation Hours: Every day: 9:30 am to 11:15 am, 1:30 pm to 3:15 pm, and 7 pm to 8:45 pm
* All visitors are required to show proper identification to guards at reception. Your identification needs to a valid government issued ID and have your name, photo, current address, date of birth and signature. You can also bring two identification documents that have all these elements when combined. You will also undergo security screening (bags are scanned and a metal detector is used) and will be asked to store personal belongings in a designated locker. Visits take place in an open visitation area.
- The British Columbia Immigration Holding Centre (living units for men, women and families)
Address: 13130 76 Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia (approximately 30 kilometers from Vancouver International Airport)
Map :public transportation routes 322, 323, 324
Phone number: (778) 591-4101
Visitation hours: Monday – Friday: 2pm-4pm and 7pm-9pm ; Weekends and Statutory Holidays: 10am-12pm and 3pm to 5pm.
* All visitors are required to show proper identification to guards at reception. Your identification needs to a valid government issued ID and have your name, photo, current address, date of birth and signature. You can also bring two identification documents that have all these elements when combined. You will also undergo security screening (bags are scanned and a metal detector is used) and will be asked to store personal belongings in a designated locker. Visits take place in an open visitation area. - * The Vancouver Airport Immigration Holding Centre remains operational as of April 2021 but is mostly used to detain people immediately prior to their deportation.
Communication with loved ones, legal representatives, and community supports is restricted to phone calls using the immigration holding center phones or in-person visitation at designated times. It is possible that the information on visiting hours may be inaccurate since they may change. For more information on the services provided to detainees at these locations, visit: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/ihc-csi-eng.html
Provincial Prisons
In Canada, immigrant detainees may also be held in provincial prisons. Many of these provincial jails are maximum-security facilities.
Below is a list of provincial prisons that have held immigrant detainees in the years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-2020*
Note: British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Manitoba have become the first Canadian provinces to end their immigration detention contracts with Canada Border Services Agency. The #WelcomeToCanada campaign, led by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, is advocating across the country to get Canada on the path to abolishing immigration detention. To support the campaign, visit: https://www.hrw.org/welcometocanada
| Atlantic Region (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick) |
|---|
| Bishop Falls Correctional Centre |
| Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility (Bumside) |
| Dalhousie Correctional Centre |
| Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, St. John’s |
| Madawaska Regional Correctional Centre |
| Moncton Detention Centre |
| Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility |
| Prince Correctional Centre, Summerside |
| Provincial Correctional Centre, Sleepy Hollow |
| Southeast Regional Correctional Centre |
| St John’s Regional Correctional Centre |
| Quebec Region |
|---|
| Centre de détention de Chicoutimi |
| Centre de détention Hull |
| Centre de détention Québec |
| Centre de détention Roberval |
| Centre de détention Sherbrooke |
| Centre de détention Saint- Jérome |
| Detention Centre Alma |
| Detention Centre Rivières-Des-Prairies Montreal |
| Detention Centre Sorel |
| Établissement Correctional Leclerc |
| Montreal Bordeaux Prison |
| Ontario – Greater Toronto Area |
|---|
| Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre |
| Central East Correctional Centre Lindsay |
| Central North Correctional Centre – Penetanguishene |
| Fort Frances Jail |
| Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre |
| Kenora Jail |
| Maplehurst Correctional Complex |
| Monteith Correctional Complex |
| Ontario Correctional Institute, Brampton |
| Roy McMurty Youth Centre |
| Sudbury Jail |
| Thunder Bay Correctional Centre |
| Thunder Bay Jail |
| Toronto East Detention Centre, Scarborough |
| Toronto South Detention Centre |
| Toronto West Detention Centre, Etobicoke |
| Vanier Centre for Women, Milton |
| Ontario – North |
|---|
| Brockville Jail |
| North Bay Jail |
| Ottawa-Carleton Regional Detention Centre |
| Quinte Regional Detention Centre |
| St. Lawrence Valley Correctional Centre |
| Ontario – South |
|---|
| Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre, London |
| Niagara Regional Detention Centre, Thorold |
| Sarnia Jail |
| South West Detention Centre |
| Windsor Jail |
| Prairies (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta) |
|---|
| Brandon Correctional Centre |
| Calgary Remand Centre |
| Dauphin Correctional Centre |
| Edmonton Remand Centre |
| Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre |
| Headingley Correctional Centre |
| Lethbridge Correctional Centre |
| Milner Ridge Correctional Centre |
| North Slave Correctional Centre |
| Peace River Correctional Centre |
| Pine Grove Correctional Centre for Women |
| Portage Correctional Centre |
| Regina Correctional Centre |
| Regina Police Service Detention Centre |
| Saskatoon City Police |
| Saskatoon Correctional Centre |
| The Pas Correctional Centre |
| White Birch Remand Centre |
| Winnipeg Remand Centre |
| Women’s Correctional Centre of Manitoba |
| Pacific (British Columbia) |
|---|
| Allouette Correctional Centre for Women |
| Fraser Regional Correctional Centre |
| Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre |
| North Fraser Pretrial Services Centre |
| Okanagan Correctional Centre |
| Prince George Correctional Centre |
| Surrey Pretrial Services Centre |
| Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre |
| Whitehorse Correctional Centre |