Qualla: Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill: Introduction

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Scotwood72, CC BY-SA 4.0. For hundreds of years before any parliament convened here, the limestone bluff above the Ottawa River served as a landmark for First Nations people and European traders navigating toward the continent's interior. They knew it as a waypoint, a distinctive rise of rock once blanketed in primeval beech and hemlock forest. When Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada in 1858, she set this ancient landmark -- then called Barrack Hill, for the military base it housed -- on a course to become the most symbolically charged piece of ground in the country. Today, Parliament Hill draws approximately three million visitors each year to its Gothic Revival towers, its sprawling forecourt of statues and memorials, and the ongoing spectacle of Canadian democracy at work.

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Image: Scotwood72 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Parliament Hill: The Biggest Build in North America

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit SimonP at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. Ground was broken on December 20, 1859, and when the Prince of Wales laid the cornerstone of the Centre Block the following September, the project was already becoming the largest construction effort North America had seen. Workers struck bedrock sooner than expected, forcing bla...

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Image: SimonP at en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Parliament Hill: The Night the Centre Block Burned

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Johnycanal at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 1.0. On February 3, 1916, fire consumed the Centre Block. Only the Library of Parliament survived, saved by an alert employee who closed its iron doors. Despite the First World War raging overseas, Governor General Prince Arthur re-laid the original cornerstone on September 1, 1916 --...

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Image: User: (WT-shared) Johnycanal at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 1.0

Parliament Hill: Witness to History

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Johnycanal at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 1.0. Parliament Hill has served as the stage for defining moments of Canadian identity. In 1939, King George VI became the first reigning Canadian sovereign to visit his Parliament. On May 8, 1945, a massive celebration on the main lawn marked Victory in Europe Day. The first raising ...

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Image: User: (WT-shared) Johnycanal at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 1.0

Parliament Hill: Ghosts, Guardians, and a Colony of Cats

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY 2.0. More than 20 bronze statues populate the grounds, commemorating figures from Queen Victoria to Sir Galahad. That last one is unexpected: the statue of the Arthurian knight honors Henry Albert Harper, a young man who drowned in the Ottawa River in 1901 trying to rescue a girl who ...

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Image: Unknown author | CC BY 2.0

Parliament Hill: The Longest Renovation

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit – Wladyslaw [Disk.], CC BY-SA 3.0. Since 2002, a three-billion-dollar renovation project has been reshaping the parliamentary precinct. The West Block was completed in November 2018 and now serves as the temporary home of the House of Commons. The Senate relocated to a renovated building in 2019. The Centre Block ...

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Image: – Wladyslaw [Disk.] | CC BY-SA 3.0