The Parliament Buildings Since 1792
The Bishop’s Palace
From 1792 to 1833, parliamentarians held their debates in the Chapel of the Bishop’s Palace. Construction of a new parliament building was begun in 1831, on the same site, and Lower Canada’s House of Assembly held its sittings there from 1834 to 1837, though the building was not fully completed until 1850. From 1852 until 1854, when it was destroyed by fire, the building was home to United Canada’s House of Assembly.
The First Parliament of United Canada
From 1841 to 1843, sittings were held in a former hospital in Kingston.
St. Ann’s Market Building
Montréal was the capital of the United Province of Canada from 1844 until 1849, when Tory rioters set fire to the parliament building.
Toronto’s Parliament
United Canada’s House of Assembly held its sittings in Toronto in 1851 and 1852, and again from 1856 to 1859. Earlier, from 1797 to 1840, the city had been the home of Upper Canada’s House of Assembly.
The Parliament Building on Côte de la Montagne
Between 1849 and 1865, the cities of Québec and Toronto alternated as capital. Constructed in 1859–1860, this building in Québec City was the seat of United Canada’s House of Assembly until 1865, and of the Province of Québec’s House of Assembly from 1867 until April 1883, when it was destroyed by fire.
The Parliament in Ottawa
Queen Victoria chose Ottawa (Bytown) as Canada’s capital in October 1857. United Canada’s House of Assembly held sittings in the still unfinished Ottawa building in 1866; Ottawa then became the federal capital of Canada.
Québec’s Current Parliament Building
Designed by architect Eugène-Étienne Taché and built between 1877 and 1886, this building has been home to Québec’s Parliament since 1884.