The Canada Malting Co. built a malt house in 1905 along the Lachine Canal, when the are was the largest industrial district in the country. At the time, all ships bound for the Great Lakes had to go through the canal. For transportation by train and by ship, the malting complex was in a choice location both for receiving the raw material, barley, and for sending out the processed product: malt.

The site was also used to germinate grain, particularly barley, used to make beer. The company was a major supplier of raw material for Montreal’s brewing industry. In 1963, eighteen silos were added to the complex. With the construction of a new malting plant in the Port of Montreal along the Bonaventure Expressway in the 1980s, the silos gradually fell out of use. Today, they are completely abandoned and have fallen victim to vandalism.

To the west, the 11 buildings and silos from 1905, precast terracotta clay modules with stone foundations, were built by a company in Minneapolis, in the United States, a city known for its innovative grain silos. These terracotta silos are the last of their kind in North America. To the east, the 18 concrete silos were built in 1963. This is a monumental complex endowed with many construction details including its neo-Roman design; for example, the arched windows on the façade and on the upper floors at the rear of the building and the brickwork of the cornices between the floors. The building is representative of an industrial architecture that combines the work of architects and engineers.

For the last few years, a real estate developer and a citizens group have proposed two very different projects. Renwick Development hopes to build 220 housing units, 30% of which would be for social housing. The project would also include some 60 artists studios and several green spaces. The À nous la Malting collective, which has been mobilizing since 2013, would like to see an entirely community-based project that would include 200 housing units, a daycare, community gardens, a market, a co-op café and a greenhouse on the top of the silos. Both groups have stated their commitment to preserve and restore several features of the Canada Malting Co.

Following a dispute between the former owner, Quanta Holdings, and the two developers Renwick Development and Les Placements Luc Poirier, both interested in acquiring the site, Renwick Development ultimately took possession of the property in August 2023. However, the redevelopment of the land may not proceed due to a new conflict in 2024 between the buyer and Quanta Holdings, which sought to reclaim the property for nonpayment.

Heritage Montréal is very attached to Canada Malting co. which is a formidable witness to the brewing history of the metropolis.

In its 2018-02 annual resolution, Heritage Montréal publicly expressed concern about the historic Molson Brewery complex and heritage industrial complexes, mentioning in particular the Canada Malting located along the Lachine Canal and asking that:

• The City of Montréal, on the occasion of projects for the former Molson brewery, is diligently adopting an effective strategy on industrial heritage, its enhancement and its reallocation within the framework of the development of the city and its neighborhoods, taking into account the reflections carried out in Montréal since the 1983 international congress of which Heritage Montréal was one of the organizers, but also achievements such as the conversion of Angus factories and foreign examples and international principles adopted by ICOMOS in 2011.

In 2019 and 2020, Renwick Development and À nous la Malting both contacted Heritage Montréal to discuss their respective projects and the potential for requalification of the industrial complex.

In October 2026, La Presse reports that the former Canada Malting plant in Saint-Henri could be demolished on an emergency basis following an engineering report commissioned by the owner at the request of the Sud-Ouest borough, which is nonetheless requiring an independent second assessment before issuing demolition permits.

Heritage Montréal continues to lobby various stakeholders so that the rehabilitation of this formidable site is worthy of the importance it has for the industrial memory of Montréal.