In 1997, Wat Lao Veluwanaram of Ontario ("Wat Lao") purchased 29.477 ha (72.84 ac) of land in part of the west half of Lot 30, Concession 1 (Albion) in the Town of Caledon to construct a place of worship for the Wat Lao Community.

Applications were made in 1998/99 to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) for a Development Permit to permit the proposed development and to the Town of Caledon for Site Plan Approval.

The application is approved and the building Permit was issued on September 19th 2003

in 2004 the Construction had been started.

Wat Lao Veluwanaram of Ontario

Wat Lao Veluwanaram of Ontario is a charitable Buddhist organization registered with both the Federal and Provincial governments. The name embodies the essential reasons for the existence of Wat Lao Veluwanaram of Ontario. Wat equals temple, Lao equals people from Laos, and Veluwanaram is the name of the temple.

Most of the members of Wat Lao are Laotian Canadians who immigrated to Canada over the past 20 years, bringing with them their Buddhist culture and Laotian heritage. The community's desire to construct a temple reflects not only the ties to their cultural past, but also adoption of Canada as their new homeland.

Wat Lao Veluwanaram has more than 400 members across Ontario and funded solely from the generosity of individual and group members donations. A Board of Directors deals with overall policy for the Wat Lao Community. The Executive and various sub-committees implement policies as determined by the Board of Directors and adopted by Wat Lao membership.

The objectives of Wat Lao Veluwanaram are to construct a permanent place of worship for its members and to promote the spiritual teachings of the Buddhist faith. 

Buddhism is one of the world's main religions and has been in existence for over 2,500 years. It is the principal religion of Laos from where most of Wat Lao community have emigrated. There are currently more than 250 Buddhist temples in Canada where people go to worship, perform various religious rituals and seek counseling and advice.

Wat Lao organizes religious festivals, ceremonies and cultural events in which all Buddhist adherents are welcome to participate.

The Wat Lao community exists to provide services to its people such as at time of death, in house warming ceremonies and in caring for the sick. The community also teaches the Buddhist faith to young people in the community.

It is the Wat Lao's  aspiration to establish a temple to allow for worship and meetings for those interested in Buddhism and Buddhist culture.