Canal de Soulanges
Concours de projet pour l’aménagement culturel et paysager du parc du Canal-de-Soulanges
The MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and the ministère de la Culture et des Communications are launching the Concours de projet pour l’aménagement culturel et paysager du parc du Canal-de-Soulanges. This national competition will allow the design of a vision of enhancement anchored in the environment and carried by the population. The canal de Soulanges, which in its time was a revolutionary construction in terms of hydraulics and technology, is today a remarkable landscape entity.
To prepare, initiate and supervise the competition, the MRC retained the services of landscape architect Isabelle Giasson of the firm EVOQ Architecture. In the past, Ms. Giasson has directed some fifteen projects that have received awards of excellence for the enhancement of heritage sites, the urban revitalization of public areas and the implementation strategy for master plans.
Contest steps
- The first stage of the competition includes a category reserved for university students. The winning student team will be awarded a $1,000 prize.
If you have any questions about the contest, you can contact us by e-mail at concourscanalsoulanges@mrcvs.ca.
Finalist teams
The three finalist teams are as follows:
- BC2 Groupe conseil inc.;
- Fahey et associés in collaboration with Félix Dagenais;
- Collectif Escargo in collaboration with Geneviève Murray.
These finalist teams will now move on to the second stage of the competition in which they will have to develop their ideas further while integrating the vision of the citizens following the survey that was conducted by the MRC and its partners and that collected the comments of more than 800 respondents.
The MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges has already held a meeting with the finalists in order to present important historical elements related to the canal as well as the results of the consultations to ensure that the final proposals of the candidates will respect the spirit of the canal site as well as the citizens’ vision.
The winner of the project competition will be announced in the summer of 2021.
The winner of the contest
After deliberations by the eight-member jury, presided over by Philippe Lupien, professor at the UQAM School of Design, the team composed of Collectif Escargo in collaboration with Rousseau Lefebvre and Geneviève Murray, museologist and cultural project management consultant, won the competition with its proposal Passengers.
Based on the theme of travel, Passengers is a 23-kilometre journey full of surprises that encourages visitors to return. Each stop becomes an adventure, a precious moment, an opportunity to learn an unusual fact, to see nature in a different way or to experience an amazing collective event.
Signature of the agreement with the ministère des Transports du Québec
The MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the ministère des Transports du Québec and the municipalities of Pointe-des-Cascades, Les Cèdres, Coteau-du-Lac and Les Coteaux have signed agreements that officially allow the transformation of the Soulanges Canal and its surroundings into a regional park. This gesture, mainly administrative, allows the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and its municipalities to realize more actions around the Soulanges Canal. It is following this agreement that it was possible to establish the regional park of the Soulanges Canal.
The establishment of the Société de gestion du canal de Soulanges
In order to ensure the day-to-day management of the new Soulanges Canal Regional Park, the MRC established the Société de gestion du canal de Soulanges, a non-profit organization. The Société will manage operations such as the maintenance of the works and grounds, the supervision and organization of events, the application of the park’s regulations and will develop and implement the park’s master plan.
The Board of Directors is composed of the general managers of the four municipalities crossed by the canal, as well as representatives from the cultural, tourism and river sectors. Mrs. Marianne Sigouin-Lebel of Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges is the director.
Administrateurs du premier conseil d’administration du Parc du canal de Soulanges
- Présidente : Madame Karina Verdon, directrice générale, Ville de Coteau-du-Lac
- Vice-président : Monsieur Jimmy Poulin, directeur général, Municipalité des Cèdres
- Trésorière : Madame Anne-Marie Duval, directrice générale, Municipalité de Pointe-des-Cascades
- Secrétaire : Madame Pamela Nantel, directrice générale, Municipalité des Coteaux
Administrateurs :
- Monsieur Daniel Bissonnette, directeur général, Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges
- Madame Linda Strong Gallant, copropriétaire, Auberge, Spa et Sucrerie des Gallant
- Madame Sylvie Bissonnette, copropriétaire et v-p opérations, Vignoble de Pomone
- Monsieur Claude Desjardins, propriétaire, Traverse Oka-Hudson
Observateurs :
- Madame Joanne Brunet, directrice générale, Développement Vaudreuil-Soulanges
- Monsieur Guy-Lin Beaudoin, directeur général, MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges