Borough of Saint-Laurent | At the forefront of the green transition

The borough of Saint-Laurent made a green shift almost 20 years ago, taking up the challenge of fighting climate change. Any construction project, whether municipal, institutional, industrial, commercial or residential, must be part of a vision of sustainable development, which favors obtaining LEED certification. Result ? The Montreal borough is, hands down, the place where the most ecological homes are built in Quebec.

Danielle Bonneau
The Press

“At one time, Saint-Laurent wanted development at all costs, and the environment was not the first priority,” says Mayor Alan DeSousa, in office since 2001. As mayor, I wanted ‘we have a much more balanced vision of development, taking into consideration the protection of the natural environment, bicycles, green spaces, the protection of our heritage. These are elements that I found important for the quality of life of citizens. »

“In 2004, when we started our environmental shift, continues the mayor, we were precursors because we wanted to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Every action in every slot was pointing in that direction. It was essential to take residential buildings into account. What we build today will last a hundred years. »

Covering an area of ​​42.8 km², Saint-Laurent is the largest borough of Montreal. Proximity to major highways and the Montréal-Trudeau airport is one of the area’s strengths, more than 70% of which are devoted to industrial and commercial activities.

It is also one of the most active places in Montreal in terms of residential construction. Since 1991, the population, the vast majority of which comes from immigration, has increased by 31,565 inhabitants (out of a total of 103,967 inhabitants in 2022). Despite this strong growth, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 43.8% per capita, compared to 1990.

“Saint-Laurent is becoming urbanized,” says Éric Paquet, Director of Urban Development and Business Services. While its success in the 1970s was linked to the automobile, a new culture has gradually taken hold over the past 20 years, focused on public transport, the creation of denser neighborhoods with green spaces, streets where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists each have a comfortable space. Each project is the subject of discussions and negotiations. Promoters know, when they come to Saint-Laurent, that you have to rack your brains. »

Give the example

In 2009, Alan DeSousa played a crucial role in the City of Montreal’s adoption of a sustainable development policy for municipal buildings. Since then, in the metropolis, any new municipal construction of more than 500 m^⁠2 must aim for LEED Gold certification at a minimum and any major renovation must be done according to LEED Silver criteria.

Thanks to the support of Saint-Laurent councillors, a similar approach is applied consistently in all spheres of activity, from one end of the borough to the other.

“We’re trying to bring about a revolution, even when it comes to affordable housing,” notes DeSousa. They thought we were a little crazy, wanting the Accès Condos project near the Bois-Franc station to be LEED. The Phoenix was certified LEED Silver in 2011 and it performs very well. And the Laurentian housing cooperative, which will soon be built, will aim for LEED Gold certification.”

Using a points grid, the LEED rating system (for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) encourages the construction of homes that consume less natural resources, energy and water, produce less waste, while having fewer indoor pollutants. In Quebec, buildings are inspected by the independent organization Evaluations Écohabitation. This provides eloquent figures. In Saint-Laurent, from 2012 to today, 1,578 dwellings have been approved and 2,505 are in the process of being certified, for a total of 4,083 dwellings. To give an idea, only one dwelling has been approved in this way in Laval.

Audacity

“Alan DeSousa is to be commended for his audacity,” says Emmanuel Cosgrove, General Manager of Écohabitation and Senior LEED Canada for Homes Evaluator. For a decade, he has been holding his own with his PPCMOIs [Projets particuliers de construction, de modification ou d’occupation d’un immeuble]. It is an urban planning tool that targets land in particular. »

“And that takes a certain longevity,” he adds. DeSousa is a mainstay in Saint-Laurent. He decided that he would not let his borough change anyhow. »

Municipalities have three tools, explains Mr. Cosgrove very colorfully. “There are the cymbals, which make noise to raise awareness and lead people in the right direction. Then there are the carrots, so the incentives. The donkey runs after the carrot and it works. Then there is the stick, which forces the donkey to move forward, when the cymbals and the carrots do not go fast enough for their taste. DeSousa employs the stick. wow! Thousands of homes have been built with low water consumption, more energy efficient, door after door, with less impact on the environment. It takes political leadership. »

In Saint-Laurent, regulations are constantly changing to reduce GHG emissions, encouraging in particular the installation of solar panels on the roofs, the installation of collective gardens, the reduction and greening of parking lots to reduce heat islands. An ambitious biodiversity corridor will be created over the next two decades. The arrival of five stations of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM), moreover, will have a major impact on land use planning. The borough is staying the course, fighting concretely, in all sorts of ways, against climate change.