ISKCON Montreal (Hare Krishna Temple)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Deities
- Radha Manohara
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Darshan hours
- Varies by day and event; consult the temple's own website for the current schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Year-round; Janmashtami and the temple's Sunday Love Feast are notable regular observances.
- How to reach
- At 1626 Boulevard Pie-IX in Montreal, Quebec, reachable by Metro (Pie-IX station) or car.
- Festivals
- Janmashtami (August/September)
- Associated saints
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Location
Search for "ISKCON Montreal (Hare Krishna Temple)" on Google MapsThis temple's exact coordinates aren't confirmed yet, so the link above searches by name and city rather than pointing to a verified spot.
Montreal’s Hare Krishna temple traces to March 1967, when Kirtanananda Dasa and Janus Dambergs (later Janardana Dasa), a French-speaking university student, established a center in the city on the personal instruction of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). By the temple’s own account it became the third city in the world outside India — after New York and San Francisco — to house a dedicated Krishna temple, making it one of the movement’s earliest and most historically significant outposts. Prabhupada himself visited Montreal twice: an extended three-month stay from August to October 1968, and a single-day visit in the summer of 1975.
Today the temple operates at 1626 Boulevard Pie-IX, where the presiding deities are Sri Sri Radha Manohara, alongside a Govinda’s-branded gift shop and vegetarian food counter typical of ISKCON centers worldwide. As with all ISKCON temples, it belongs to the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and continues Prabhupada’s program of public kirtan, scriptural teaching, and prasadam distribution for Montreal’s Hindu and broader spiritual community.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked Wikipedia's 'Kirtanananda Swami' article, which states that in March 1967, on Srila Prabhupada's order, Kirtanananda Dasa and Janus Dambergs (Janardana Dasa), a French-speaking university student, established the Montreal Hare Krishna temple, against ISKCON Montreal's own website (iskconmontreal.ca), whose French-language 'l'Histoire' page states devotees found a location to establish a Montreal center by late 1967, making it (per the temple's own account) the third city in the world outside India to house a Krishna temple; the site further confirms Srila Prabhupada personally visited Montreal for an extended stay from August to October 1968 and again for a day in summer 1975, and gives the temple's current address as 1626 Boulevard Pie-IX, where the presiding deities are Sri Sri Radha Manohara.
For review
- The exact founding month is reported inconsistently across sources: Wikipedia's 'Kirtanananda Swami' article dates the Montreal center's establishment to March 1967 under Kirtanananda Dasa and Janardana Dasa, while the temple's own history page describes devotees finding a location 'by late 1967'; both agree on the year 1967 and on Montreal being an early, historically significant ISKCON center, but not on the precise month. It is also not confirmed whether 1626 Boulevard Pie-IX, the current address, was the temple's original 1967 location or a later site.