Centre Block
Parliament’s Centre Block is about politics—and journalism, too
As the main building on Parliament Hill closes for renovations, a nostalgic look at how the place honours the printed word
Farewell, for now, to Parliament’s Centre Block
As the building closes for renovations, Paul Wells looks back at what there is to love about the place and the events that left their mark on it
Unearthing Centre Block’s true master of plaster
In the wake of a fire, John Pearson dreamed up a new Centre Block. But its true master of plaster was wrongly named—until now.
How a new Centre Block rose, a century ago, from Parliament’s ashes
Though a fire destroyed Centre Block 100 years ago, its replacement—designed by an enigmatic architect—gave us the Peace Tower and its mysterious treasures
Inside 5 of Ottawa’s most influential rooms
The Prime Minister’s Office gets all the attention, but these spaces in and around the capital have all been witness to power
The Commons: Mourning Jack
If Layton’s lying-in-state was without precedent, it is now not without justification
Idea alert
David Mitchell suggests Parliament should become a travelling road show once Centre Block is closed for renovations.
The Great Fire
Ninety-five years ago tonight, Parliament’s Centre Block was destroyed by fire—only the Library of Parliament surviving intact. The blaze left seven dead, including Bowman Brown Law, the MP for Yarmouth. Tom Korski reviews new analysis of what happened that night, including the only known film of the aftermath.
Carillon rock
One of the indisputably finer experiences in Ottawa is to walk out of Centre Block’s main doors on a Friday at noon, having perhaps sat through that morning’s session of Question Period, to hear the Peace Tower Carillon ringing an end to another week with, say, Estudios, Op. 31, nos. 2, 3, 4, by Fernando Sor.
And then there were two
A fierce 60-something is now one of the PC party’s last holdouts
The Commons: Lights on, nobody home
What’s left of the legislative process once the furious indignation and the bad puns are stripped away? Not much.
Unity Makes Strength
A note from the Prime Minister’s Office.