Loto-Québec to build hotel next to Montreal Casino

"Most casinos have a hotel, so I say: 'Finally!'" he said. 

The hotel, which is set to open in three years, will have 200 rooms and comes with a $150-million price tag.

The news was welcomed by Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who said tourism was still recovering from the hit it took in the pandemic.

Plante said the hotel fits in with her plan to revitalize Parc Jean-Drapeau, which is meant to add more green spaces and make the St. Lawrence River more accessible, while Proulx said it will help develop Montreal's east end and give it more visibility as a tourist destination.

The hotel will be built on land already owned by Loto-Québec, on what is currently a parking lot adjacent to the casino, said Bergeron. But Montreal city councillor Craig Sauvé is opposed to the building of a hotel on Parc Jean-Drapeau, saying it contributes to "privatization of public space." 

"I cannot believe the city is going to let a hotel be built in the center of a prestigious park. This is a completely unacceptable commodification of public space," he said in a news release.

Sauvé argues Montrealers will lose access to a sector of Île Notre-Dame and that the hotel would go against recommendations by the city's public consultation body to protect blue and green spaces. 

Plante and Bergeron said the hotel's environmental impact will be studied.

"There is no chance that this hotel will be able to respect the principles of sustainable mobility and tranquility; This project will increase the presence of automobiles and noise in a park with significant biodiversity," Sauvé pushed back.

"The city must use its urban planning bylaws to refuse this project of privatization and commodification of public space."

Loto-Québec already has the Hilton Lac-Leamy and Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in its real estate portfolio.