Toronto West Detention Centre
| Location | 111 Disco Rd, Toronto, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed |
| Security class | Maximum |
| Capacity | 631 |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Closed | December 2014 Demolished December 2016 |
| Managed by | Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services |
The Toronto West Detention Centre was a maximum security remand facility located in Rexdale, a community located in the north-west corner of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The facility was known as the Metropolitan Toronto West Detention Centre until Rexdale, as part of the City of Etobicoke, became part of the newly amalgamated City of Toronto in 1998.
With a designed capacity for 631 prisoners,[1] the Toronto West Detention Centre housed adult males who had been remanded into custody while awaiting trial or sentencing, were serving short sentences, or were awaiting transfer to federal or provincial correctional facilities.[2] Over the years the Toronto West Detention Centre had at times also housed female and juvenile offenders. From October 1997 through January 1999 the facility underwent extensive retrofitting of its security systems using up-to-date technology.[3] The facility has also housed foreign nationals being detained on security certificates.
In January 2014, the Toronto South Detention Centre opened to replace the Toronto West Detention Centre and the Toronto Jail (Don Jail). The Toronto Jail was demolished and is now a vacant site situated beside the new hospital facility.
Demolition of the Toronto West Detention Centre commenced in December 2016 with a projected finish of February 2017. The 111 Disco road site is slated to become the home of the new Ontario Emergency Preparedness and Response Headquarters.[4]
Notable prisoners
- Hassan Almrei, Syrian who came to Canada on a forged passport, alleged to have been involved in an al Qaeda forgery ring.[5]
- Wahid Khalil Baroud, Palestinian who came to Canada on a forged passport, alleged to be a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Force 17, who served as a bodyguard to PLO leader Yasser Arafat and coordinated PLO terrorist acts.
- Laurie Bembenek, also known as Bambi Bembenek, convicted of murder of her husband's ex-wife
- Karla Homolka, serial killer, co-accused with her then-husband Paul Bernardo
- Abdullah Khadr, awaiting extradition, 2004–current, alleged tied to terrorism.[6]
- Karlheinz Schreiber, German-Canadian businessman embroiled in a dispute with former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney;[7] later extradited to Germany
- Ernst Zündel, neo-Nazi, was held at Toronto West from 2003 until his 2005 deportation
See also
List of correctional facilities in Ontario
References
- ^ Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services – Detention Centres Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services – Facilities Archived 11 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services – Modernizing the System Archived 30 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ CTV Television Network, Canada criticized for Hassan Almrei detention, 6 November 2005
- ^ Toronto Star, $500,000 paid for capture of Khadr, 13 May 2008
- ^ National Post, Karlheinz Schreiber free again on bail 17 April 2008