Announced more than four decades earlier and dedicated 35 years ago, the Toronto Ontario Temple is opening for several weeks of public tours following recent renovations and prior to its late-March rededication.
President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, will rededicate the house of the Lord in the Toronto suburb of Brampton in east-central Canada on March 23. The single rededication session at 10 a.m. EST will also be broadcast to all units in the temple district.
On Monday, Feb. 10, the temple opened its doors to local media representatives for tours, hosted by Elder Mathias Held and Elder Robert M. Daines, General Authority Seventies and counselors in the North America Northeast Area presidency, and Elder David LaFrance, an Area Seventy. Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Temple Department, was scheduled to participate but did not attend due to illness.
Monday’s media day began with a 9 a.m. EST news conference with the general authorities and local leaders welcoming visiting media prior to tours of the interior of the house of the Lord.
Following two days of invited-guest tours, the Toronto temple will open for public tours from Thursday, Feb. 13, through Saturday, March 8, excluding Sundays. Tours are free, but reservations are recommended and can be made at TorontoTemple.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Toronto temple was closed for renovations on Oct. 23, 2023, with interior reconfigurations and improvements to meet increased patron attendance and improve accessibility. Heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems were upgraded, capacities for seating and dressing areas increased, and a new baptistry entry, welcome area and recommend desk added.
Interior and exterior photos were released on ChurchofJesusChrist.org as part of media day.
Toronto temple history
President Gordon B. Hinckley, then a counselor in the First Presidency, announced a house of the Lord for Toronto on April 7, 1984. Ground was later broken on Oct. 10, 1987, with President Thomas S. Monson, then second counselor in the First Presidency, presiding.
Dedicated in August 1990 by President Hinckley, the Toronto temple was the Church’s second house of the Lord in Canada, following the Cardston Alberta Temple’s dedication in 1923.
Today, Canada is home to more than 203,000 Latter-day Saints in 489 congregations. About 54,000 Saints reside in 90-plus congregations in Ontario. During the renovation, these Church members had to travel to Montreal, Quebec; Detroit, Michigan; or Palmyra, New York, to worship in a temple.
Temples in Canada
The Toronto temple is one of nine dedicated houses of the Lord in Canada, including the Calgary Alberta, Cardston Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Halifax Nova Scotia, Montreal Quebec, Regina Saskatchewan, Vancouver British Columbia and Winnipeg Manitoba temples.
Two more have been announced and are in planning and design — the Lethbridge Alberta and Victoria British Columbia temples.
Church history in Canada and Ontario
Missionary work in Canada began with Joseph Smith Sr. and his son, Don Carlos — the father and brother, respectively, of Joseph Smith Jr. They preached in several Canadian towns and hamlets north of the St. Lawrence River in September 1830.
The Church’s first three Presidents had ties to Ontario — Joseph Smith visited members in 1833 and 1837, Brigham Young taught in the Kingston area, and John Taylor joined the Church in Toronto.
More than 2,000 joined the Church in Ontario during the 1830s and 1840s, moving to join the main body of Latter-day Saints in the United States.
Later, missionaries returned to Ontario in the early 1900s, with branches organized in cities throughout the province. The first chapel in the area was dedicated in Toronto in 1938, with the first stake created there in 1960.
Correction: The version updates the participation of of Church leaders at the morning news conference.
Toronto Ontario Temple
- Location: 10060 Bramalea Road, Brampton, Ontario 16R 1A1
- Announced: April 7, 1984
- Groundbreaking: Oct. 10, 1987
- Dedicated: Aug. 25-27, 1990, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then first counselor in the First Presidency
- To be rededicated: March 23, 2025, by President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Property size: 13.4 acres
- Building size: 55,558 square feet
- Building height: 171 feet
