Guy Turcotte has been sentenced to 17 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
He has been in prison since Dec. 6, 2015, when a jury found him guilty of the second-degree murders of his two children, Olivier and Anne-Sophie.
That verdict comes with an automatic life sentence, but a judge has leeway in determining when a murderer is eligible for parole.
The defence was seeking a ten to 15-year term, while the Crown wanted Turcotte to spend at least 20 years in prison before being allowed to apply.
Crown prosecutor René Verret said he is satisfied with the sentence.
"You all know that we suggested 20 years and of course the defence was difference, but like I said before we have to respect by Judge Vincent this morning," said Verret.
"We had the opinion, we respectfully submitted that for us 20 would have been appropriate, but I will repeat myself that we have to respect the decision rendered by Judge Vincent because the decision was well-motivated."
Turcotte underwent two trials after his 2009, and has already spent 44 months he spent in jail or at Pinel Institute while he was undergoing psychiatric care. That time will be deducted from his sentence.
On Jan. 6, 2016, Turcotte's lawyers announced they will appeal the guilty sentence, saying that Justice Andre Vincent made errors in law when delivering instructions to the jury, and when answering questions from the jury.
Turcotte's second trial took place because Quebec's Court of Appeal determined that the judge in the first trial made errors when addressing the jury.
Turcotte's ex-wife, Isabelle Gaston, did not attend Friday's sentencing hearing.
