Quebec provincial police have arrested the husband of Diane Grégoire, the woman from Montreal's South Shore who was last seen in 2008.

Police confirmed the arrest of a 54-year-old man who knew the victim, but they would not give his name because he has not yet been formally charged and a warrant was not issued before the arrest early Tuesday morning.

Multiple sources have confirmed to CBC News that the man arrested was Grégoire's husband, Paul Laplante.

He is expected to be charged at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse west of Montreal on Wednesday morning.

Diane Grégoire, whose remains were found in November, had been missing since 2008. (CBC)Grégoire, 51, was reportedly last seen by her husband on Jan. 31, 2008, in a mall parking lot on Montreal's South Shore. He told police he had dropped his wife off in the morning, but she failed to show up at a scheduled rendezvous but police were unable to verify the information.

The Sûreté du Québec announced on Nov. 29 that Grégoire's remains had been found by a citizen in a wooded area in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., southwest of Montreal.

"Finding the crime scene, it helped with the investigation but there was already a case that was built," said Lt. Guy Lapointe.

Police had initially treated the woman's disappearance as a missing person's case. They confirmed they were investigating it as a homicide in September, and later searched a pig farm in Saint-Valérien-de-Milton, Que., for clues.

Laplante was photographed and filmed by news crews as he was escorted into police headquarters in Montreal after his arrest.

With files from The Canadian Press