Canada built its network of Victorian psychiatric asylums on the Kirkbride Plan — Gothic Revival central towers with bat-wing ward extensions, working farms, therapeutic lakefront grounds and underground tunnel networks connecting every building. When deinstitutionalization emptied them through the 1970s-1990s, the buildings were left as some of the most atmospherically powerful abandoned places in the country. Century Manor's Gothic towers in Hamilton. Whitby's decaying wards east of Toronto. Selkirk's 1886 campus on the Red River. Here are the 5 best abandoned asylums in Canada, selected from our Abandoned Places Map Canada — 2,500+ GPS locations across Canada.
1. Century Manor – Hamilton, Ontario — 1876 Gothic Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, Most Famous Haunted Building in Hamilton, Gothic Towers Still Standing on West 5th Street (Known Location)
Built in 1876 as the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, Century Manor is the most famous abandoned building in Hamilton — a Gothic Revival structure whose pointed towers, Victorian brickwork and institutional weight have made it the centrepiece of Hamilton's urbex and paranormal communities for decades. The asylum served patients for over a century before deinstitutionalization reduced its population; the original 1876 Gothic core remains in atmospheric semi-abandonment on West 5th Street. One of the most dramatically Victorian and most historically charged abandoned asylums in Canada.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Century Manor Hamilton
2. Whitby Psychiatric Hospital – Whitby, Ontario — One of Ontario's Largest Mental Health Campuses, Closed 1995, Original Ward Buildings Decaying, 45 Minutes from Toronto (Known Location)
The Ontario Hospital at Whitby was one of the largest psychiatric institutions in Ontario — a complete self-sustaining campus that held thousands of patients through the mid-20th century. Closed in 1995, the original ward buildings, administration tower and farm campus infrastructure decay across the Whitby site. A reputation for paranormal activity has made it one of the most discussed abandoned asylums in the GTA urbex community. One of the most atmospherically powerful and most extensively photographed abandoned asylums near Toronto.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in Canada →
3. Selkirk Mental Health Centre – Selkirk, Manitoba — 1886 Prairie Psychiatric Campus on the Red River, Original Victorian Ward Buildings and Farm Infrastructure, 30 Minutes from Winnipeg (Known Location)
The Selkirk Mental Health Centre opened in 1886 as Manitoba's primary psychiatric institution — a complete Victorian campus on the Red River north of Winnipeg. Progressive deinstitutionalization reduced the patient population through the late 20th century; the original 1886 brick ward buildings, the farm campus and the Red River setting remain in various states of atmospheric partial abandonment alongside the still-active clinical portions. One of the oldest and most historically significant abandoned asylums on the Canadian prairies. GPS coordinates available with our map.
4. Abandoned 1880s Kirkbride Asylum – Gothic Revival Central Tower, Bat-Wing Ward Extensions, Underground Tunnel Network Connecting All Buildings, Farm Campus Still Visible, Southern Ontario (Exclusively on Our Map)
A complete 1880s Kirkbride-plan psychiatric campus in southern Ontario — the original Gothic Revival central administration tower dominating the surrounding landscape, the bat-wing ward extensions stretching either side with floor-length windows designed to admit therapeutic light, the underground tunnel network connecting all buildings still intact and the self-sustaining farm campus boundaries visible on the surrounding grounds. The chapel with its original woodwork, the laundry building and the staff residences are all still standing. One of the most architecturally complete and most atmospherically powerful abandoned asylums in Canada. Available on our Canada Urbex Map.
5. Abandoned 1950s Quebec Provincial Psychiatric Pavilion – Art Deco Institutional Block, Original Ward Furniture Still in Rooms, Hydrotherapy Suite with Period Equipment Intact, Quebec (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1950s Quebec provincial psychiatric pavilion — the original Art Deco institutional block with its corridor of ward rooms, period metal-frame beds still in place in several rooms and the hydrotherapy suite with its original cast-iron tub equipment and treatment apparatus intact. Quebec's provincial psychiatric system expanded rapidly in the 1940s-1960s; when deinstitutionalization policy reversed course in the 1970s-1980s, the newer pavilions were the first to be vacated, leaving their furnishings in place. One of the most timelessly preserved and most atmospherically complete abandoned asylums in Canada. Discover its exact location on our interactive map.
Safety Tips
- Asbestos: universal in pre-1980 Canadian psychiatric buildings — always wear an FFP2 mask in any enclosed ward, corridor or tunnel
- Structural instability: asylum buildings have complex floor loading from removed medical equipment — always test floors before committing weight and avoid upper levels
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned asylum in Canada?
Century Manor in Hamilton, Ontario — the 1876 Gothic Hamilton Asylum for the Insane, Hamilton's most famous haunted building and the centrepiece of the city's urbex community for decades.
What is the Kirkbride Plan?
An architectural philosophy for psychiatric hospitals developed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride in the 1850s — a central Gothic administration tower with bat-wing ward extensions designed to provide natural light and ventilation to every patient room, surrounded by a self-sustaining farm. Canada built dozens of Kirkbride-plan asylums between 1860 and 1910.
What ended the era of large psychiatric institutions in Canada?
Deinstitutionalization — a policy shift beginning in the 1960s that moved psychiatric care from large campuses to community-based settings, accelerated by the development of effective psychiatric medications. Most large Canadian asylums closed progressively between 1970 and 2000.
🎯 Summary
Canada's abandoned asylums range from an 1876 Gothic asylum that is Hamilton's most haunted building, to a Manitoba prairie psychiatric campus open since 1886 and a Quebec pavilion whose hydrotherapy suite is still equipped with period apparatus. Each of these 5 abandoned asylums in Canada carries the weight of a century of institutional ambition — and the silence of its ending.
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