A sizable donation from an art patron has helped launch a multimillion-dollar expansion project for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The expansion will incorporate the downtown's former Erskine and America Church, renowned for its collection of Louis C. Tiffany windows. The project also includes a modern, five-storey addition that will significantly increase the museum's display space, add a new pavilion dedicated to Canadian art and add a concert hall.

The former church will house a new pavillion dedicated to Canadian art.
(Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)

The new Canadian pavilion will be named after art lovers Claire and Marc Bourgie, who made their fortune with the Urgel Bourgie Funeral Homes.

Though the Bourgie family has often been approached to make donations to a variety of organizations over the years, son Pierre said last week that the family was interested in making one large donation "so we could make a difference."

His family's donation "should help not only to make Canadian art accessible to locals, [it] should help us to expose Canadian art to the world," he told CBC News.

Though neither he nor museum officials revealed the exact amount of the Bourgie donation, it is said to be significant. Bourgie said his family also plans to continue to be involved with the museum on an ongoing basis.

While federal and provincial government donations of $13 million each have been earmarked for the infrastructure and renovations for the expansion, the Bourgie donation will go towards operational expenses and acquisitions.

The historic church on Sherbrooke West — which will have its façade and interior spruced up for its new role — is renowned for its collection of stained glass windows by Tiffany, whose father founded the famed jewelry store chain.

Some have billed the Montreal stained glass window collection as one of the most important in North America, after a 1957 fire destroyed Tiffany's former Long Island estate where he had incorporated many of his designs.

Susan Salvadi, a former member of the downtown church's congregation, said she was thrilled the building would be preserved and restored.

"When we were at the decision to put our church up for sale, you can imagine how heart-wrenching that was for the congregation as a whole," she said.

"We were really united in keeping the preservation of the church, of making sure it still stayed in the community. We really wanted the museum to have it."

Through the end of the year, the museum is offering free admission, including to the church, currently displaying the religious art exhibit Artistic Legacy of the Montreal Sulpicians.

The church portion of the museum will close at the end of the year for the renovation project and is scheduled to reopen in 2010 in time for the institution's 150th anniversary.