A Century of Mosques Spaces in Canada

The Canadian mosque is a building typology with nearly a century of development, with documented Muslim presence in Canada dating back to 1854. Nascent Muslim populations in each province, from different waves of immigration, worshipped in private and rented spaces for the first decades of presence before converting a building or constructing a mosque. The first purpose-built mosque was Al Rashid, in Edmonton, built in 1938. Other ‘first’ mosques throughout Canada include the Islamic Centre in Quebec built in 1954, the London Muslim Mosque (formerly Hazelwood mosque) built in Winnipeg in 1976. Other recent ‘firsts’ in the various provinces include the Muslim Association of New Brunswick built in 1985, the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan built in 1989 and the Muslim Association of Newfoundland built in 1990. The first mosques in the Canadian arctic include the Midnight mosque in Inuvik built in 2010 and Masjid Iqaluit completed in 2016.

The history of nearly a century of Muslim contribution to the built environment of Canada is rarely mentioned in contemporary discourses on mosque architecture or studies in the history of Canadian architecture. The impact of these spaces as hubs is reflected in the community activities for Canadian Muslims, recent immigrants and refugees as well as places of outreach and ambassadors of coexistence beyond.