CONTANT, L. Alphonse (fl. 1897- c. 1923) was active in Montreal where his name appears in classified listings for the profession from 1897 until after 1930, but he is not to be confused with Joseph Charles Alphonse Content, another Montreal architect working during the same period. He was invited by Victor Roy to form a partnership in Montreal in 1897 (see list of works under Roy & Contant), but their collaboration was brief, and ended in 1898. Contant then worked under his own name, but only a few references to work have been found. In 1910 L.A. Contant designed a convent for the Soeurs de la Congregation Notre Dame at Chateauguay, Que. He was also directly involved with designs for major extensions to Windsor Station, Windsor Street at St. Antoine Street, Montreal, Que. The latter project is often solely attributed to W.J. Painter, but it is unclear if they collaborated on the commission or whether the design by Painter superceded the scheme developed by Contant.
In 1922, Alphonse Contant became embroiled in legal controversy in Ottawa, Ont. when he was formally charged with stealing over $91,000 from the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Ottawa between 1915 and 1922, in connection with his work on the new Monastery of the Precious Blood, built 1915-23 (Ottawa Journal, 21 Sept. 1922, 7; Detroit Free Press, 22 Sept. 1922, 7; Gazette [Montreal], 27 Sept. 1922, 6; and 18 Oct. 1923, 5; and 24 Oct. 1923, 5). He never regained his professional reputation after this event, and he ceased to practise.
CHATEAUGUAY, QUE., Roman Catholic convent for the Soeurs de la Congregation Notre Dame, 1910 (La Presse [Montreal], 1 Oct. 1910, 5, illus.)
MONTREAL, QUE., major extensions to Windsor Station, Windsor Street at St. Antoine Street, 1910 (La Presse [Montreal], 20 Aug. 1910, 10, illus.)
OTTAWA, ONT., Roman Catholic Monastery of the Precious Blood, Echo Drive, 1915-23 (Montreal Daily Star, 15 July 1915, 12, t.c.; Ottawa Citizen, 25 Oct. 1915, 11; Ottawa: A Guide to Heritage Structures, 2000,187, illus.; Andrew Waldron, Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region, 2017, 151, illus. & descrip.)