Like their U.S. counterparts, Canadian justice leaders are navigating a delicate balancing act: expanding correctional capacity while preserving commitments to rehabilitation, wellness and community reintegration. According to sector subject matter experts at NORR — a global architecture and engineering firm with active justice projects on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border — trends shaping correctional design today are not confined to buildings alone. Rather, they reflect broader changes occurring across an interconnected justice ecosystem of police facilities, courthouses and correctional institutions. That systems-level perspective increasingly informs how Canadian jurisdictions are planning and investing in justice infrastructure.
Ontario Court of Justice – Toronto, Toronto, ON
Capacity Expansion Meets Rehabilitation Goals
Across Canada, correctional agencies are confronting rising demand for detention space driven by demographic, social and policy factors.
“Aging facilities remain a major issue, but we are also seeing growing remand populations and female offenders, more complex mental health and addiction needs, an aging population in custody, and new contraband challenges involving drugs, drones and technology,” said Jonathan Hughes, Chief Operating Officer and Acting VP, Justice, at NORR.
Those pressures have intensified in Ontario, which is adding more than 2,500 permanent jail beds (both new construction and renovation) over the next decade, a $3 billion investment that will ensure the system can keep pace with tougher bail and sentencing laws while increasing hiring and staff resources. The plan includes adding up to 255 permanent new beds across 12 existing institutions by November 2026, revising the design and scope of projects currently in the pipeline to bring up to 1,703 beds online and adding up to 610 beds through rapid builds at existing institutions. As announced in the 2026 Budget, the government is supporting this increased capacity by hiring more than 700 new correctional officers, nurses and support workers and strengthening safety protocols.
“We’re seeing projects that have rapid deployment, accelerated schedules, [and are designed to] expand an existing facility by adding one or two housing units,” said Memo Terres, Justice Principal at NORR.
Yet designers face growing pressure to ensure those expansions do not sacrifice the rehabilitative principles that have increasingly shaped Canadian corrections.
“We cannot move away from the fundamentals that support rehabilitation,” Terres said. “Natural light, access to programs and education, outdoor spaces, direct supervision and meaningful interaction all remain essential. As facilities evolve, the principles of restorative justice must continue to inform the way correctional environments are planned and designed.”
Read the full article in Correctional News.
Article by Lindsey Coulter. Excerpts republished with permission.
Thunder Bay Correctional Centre & Kenora Jail, Thunder Bay and Kenora, ON
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