What is the significance of Parliament Hill?

Parliament Hill is the seat of Canadian democracy, where the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate together form the Parliament of Canada. The Hill occupies a 0.36 square kilometre limestone promontory above the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa and contains the Centre Block, East Block, and West Block. The complex was begun in 1859 in the Gothic Revival style after Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital in 1857, and was opened on June 6, 1866.

The original Centre Block burned to the ground on the night of February 3, 1916 during the First World War, sparing only the Library of Parliament thanks to its iron fire doors. Reconstruction designed by architects John A. Pearson and J.O. Marchand began that summer and the new Centre Block, including the 92.2-metre Peace Tower, opened in 1927. The Peace Tower is dedicated to the more than 66,000 Canadians killed in the Great War, and its Memorial Chamber houses Books of Remembrance recording the names of all Canadian war dead.

The Hill hosts the country's central political ceremonies: the Speech from the Throne opening each parliamentary session, Royal Assent ceremonies, the annual budget tabling, the Canada Day evening concert, the Remembrance Day observance across Confederation Square, and the Changing of the Guard at the Vimy Memorial from late June to late August. The Centennial Flame at the front of the Hill, lit by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson on January 1, 1967, is the country's eternal flame for Confederation.

The Centre Block closed in January 2019 for a major rehabilitation, and Parliament now meets in the West Block (House of Commons) and in the former Government Conference Centre rebranded as the Senate of Canada Building. The Hill remains open to visitors year-round, with free guided tours of the working chambers, Library of Parliament, and Peace Tower observation deck.