Should Stony Mountain Penitentiary Be Replaced?

Following the closure of Kingston, Ontario's federal pen, Stony Mountain has become Canada's oldest and continuously operating federal penitentiary. Soon, with the closure of Newfoundland's provincial pen, it will become the oldest penitentiary in Canada period. Built in 1877, it replaced Lower Fort Garry for federal inmates.

In 2014, an expansion added 96 inmates for a maximum security wing. There are also medium and minimum security wings of 481 and 217 respectively. Adjacent to Stony Mountain is Rockwood Institution built in 1962 which houses as additional 167 inmates. It last had a renovation in 2010 which added 50 inmates. It should be noted these improvements were done during the Harper government. 

Stony is, without doubt, one of the most dangerous prisons in Canada. It has become all too common to have one or two people die inside the walls. Presently, the only real prison construction that is taking place in Canada is at massive provincial level in Ontario to the tune of billions. In Manitoba, the provincial jail system had seen closures but now Dauphin is getting a $142 million correctional facility to replace one that has closed. 

Prisons get old. And they get dangerous. Manitoba's provincial jail in Headingly had a riot that caused so much damage in the 1990s that it took millions to fix. Inmates were kept all over the province until it was done. Now, in 2026, it is one of the older provincial facilities in Canada. At some point, the cost of electrical, water, crumbling concrete would seem to trigger a new build but it hard to get the public excited about prison construction. That is, until you try to close a facility like they did in Dauphin. And then you hear about not facilitating corrections, the loss of jobs and general lack of preparedness for repeat offender who are not fit for the community because they see no consequences for their acts.

The various investigations of deaths at Stony Mountain and the execrable process of time, will continue to put pressure on the corrections facility infrastructure. It is reported violent crime is down the last two years running in Winnipeg but it is higher in rural areas. This could be attributed to more people being arrested for violent crimes and repeat offences being convicted. Or more police prevention. Possibly more work on crime prevention? The list is long on what could account for it.

A replacement of Stony Mountain Institution has to be as much about corrections versus consequences. Turning people into better gang members after 20 years is self defeating. Keeping people in prison for 40 years seems expensive and excessive depending on their crime. Is the present prison even built well enough for security and safety given how many deaths there? There are probably a whole list of things to consider. One thing that should not be considered is not having a prison. There are a number of people in prison who are there for very good reasons. It isn't safe to not incarcerate someone who hunts humans. But prison is not a good place to solve poverty and homelessness.

Regardless of what people think of prison, I think many will agree they don't want a serial killer out on the streets any time soon. Stony Mountain isn't getting any younger. They shouldn't wait till it falls apart like Kingston did.