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History of Ontario's Legislative Buildings

Since 1792, five different structures have been built to house Ontario’s parliament. In each of these buildings, historic decisions were made that shaped both the province and the country. From the humble wooden structure dubbed the ‘Palace of Government’ on the shores of Lake Ontario, to the grand stone building in Queen’s Park in the heart of Toronto, the history of Ontario’s parliament buildings is most definitely a colourful one.

The Province of Upper Canada

The Province of Canada

The Province of Ontario and the Dominion of Canada


Sources Used

Arthur, Eric. From Front Street to Queen's Park: The Story of Ontario's Parliament Buildings. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1979.

Dale, Clare A. The Palaces of Government: A History of the Legislative Buildings of the Provinces of Upper Canada, Canada and Ontario, 1792-1992. Toronto: Ontario Legislative Library, 1993.

Dieterman, Frank A. and Ronald F. Williamson. Government on Fire: The History of Upper Canada's First Parliament Buildings. Toronto: Eastend Books, 2001.

Hall, Roger. A Century to Celebrate 1893 - 1993: The Ontario Legislative Building. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1993.

Martyn, Lucy Booth. A View of Original Toronto. Sutton West, Ontario. The Paget Press, 1983.

Yeigh, Frank. Ontario's Parliament Buildings or A Century of Legislation: 1792 - 1892, A Historical Sketch. Toronto: The Williamson Book Company, 1893.

 

Upper Canada
Newark (Niagara-on-the-lake)
Parliament was held in Newark from 1792 - 1796.
Historical Background The Constitutional Act of 1791 established the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada.
1792 On the 17th of September the Province of Upper Canada held its first parliament at either Navy Hall or the Freemasons Hall in Newark, which is now known as Niagara-on-the-lake. There were sixteen members present.

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 Upper Canada
York (Toronto)
Parliament was held in York from 1797 - 1841.
Historical Background Fort Toronto, originally owned by the French and taken over by the British in 1759, was renamed York in honour of the Duke of York on August 26th, 1793.

Government officials decided to relocate the House of Assembly to York (now Toronto) because of the dangers of having the capital, temporarily located at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake), situated directly across the Niagara River from the United States. At this time, relations between the two nations were volatile following the war for independence in the American colonies.

In 1794, construction of a parliamentary complex in York began close to the shore of Lake Ontario near the intersection of the present day Front and Parliament Streets.

1797 The parliamentary complex was completed by June and the first parliament was held at York. The humble wooden buildings were called the "Palace of Government".
1813 During the War of 1812-1814, on April 27, 1813 the Americans attacked with a fleet of fourteen ships via the York Harbour. The courthouse and parliament buildings were looted, and then burned down.
1814 After the attack, the House of Assembly held one session in the ballroom of Jordan's York Hotel in an area close to what is now the intersection of King and Parliament Streets in downtown Toronto.
1815 For five sessions, until 1820, the House of Assembly gathered at the home of Chief Justice William Henry Draper, which they called, "The Lawn". Draper's residence was located at what is now the intersection of Wellington and York Streets in downtown Toronto.
1818 Plans were made to rebuild new parliament buildings on top of the burnt foundation of the "Palace of Government", and to build an addition.
1820 The new parliament buildings were completed. Parliament Buildings erected in 1820; burned in 1824
1824 On December 30th, an overheated chimney flue in the north wing of the building sparked a fire and the new parliament building was destroyed.
1825-1829 York General HospitalThe House of Assembly relocated temporarily to the York General Hospital (which later became the Toronto General Hospital), which stood on the southeast corner of the block bound by King, Adelaide, John and Peter Streets.
1829-1832 The Legislature of Upper Canada held its sessions at the old Court House, located on the north side of King Street between Toronto and Church Streets.
1832-1841 The Legislature of Upper Canada held its meetings in the new parliament buildings on Front Street, between John and Simcoe Streets.

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 The Province of Canada
Kingston
Parliament was held in Kingston from 1841-1843.
Historical Background The Union Act of 1840 amalgamated the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. The union provided for a joint parliament of the united provinces, now called Canada West (Ontario) and Canada East (Quebec).

This newly united government needed to find and agree upon a permanent location in which to hold its sessions. The Governor General of the time, Lord Charles Sydenham, decided to move the seat of government to Kingston.

1841-1843 Parliament is held for three sessions in part of the Kingston General Hospital.

Sydenham's successor, Sir Charles Bagot, believed that the Province of Canada needed a seat of government that would appease both the French and English people. He also noted that Kingston was situated too close to the American border and a principal naval station. The decision was made to move the House of Assembly for the Province of Canada to Montreal.


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 The Province of Canada
Montreal
Parliament was held in Montreal from 1844-1849.
1844 On November 28, sessions of the Second Parliament of the Province of Canada in the renovated St. Anne’s Market in Montreal.
1849 On April 25, a mob protesting the Royal Assent of the Rebellion Losses Bill overtook the Legislative Assembly. The parliament building (formerly St. Anne's Market) and almost everything in it was devastated by fire.

Parliament is temporarily held at the Bonsecours Market Hall and the Freemason's Hall in Montreal until it is decided that the legislature would move back to the Front Street parliament buildings in Toronto.

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 The Province of Canada
Quebec City and Toronto
Parliament was held in Toronto and Quebec City from 1849 - 1865.
1849 Parliament is moved from Montreal to Toronto.
1851 The government decided that Parliament locations would rotate between Toronto and Quebec City; this was known as "perambulation".

Many people in the legislature did not agree with the perambulation system and there was much discussion regarding the choosing of a permanent seat of government. They argued that it would cost too much to move Parliament between Toronto and Quebec every 4 years.

1852 Parliament is moved to Quebec City.
1854 The Quebec parliament buildings were consumed by fire and the government was moved to the Quebec Music Hall and Courthouse.
1856 Parliament moved back to Toronto and is held there until 1859.

The question of a permanent seat of government had been in debate for several years. Finally, on April 17, Quebec City was chosen as the permanent seat of government by a vote of 64 to 56.

1857 Although Quebec City was designated as Canada's capital, some people in government did not agree with this choice and the debate continued. In March of 1857, the assembly asked Queen Victoria to choose Canada's permanent seat of government.

Queen Victoria chose Ottawa over Toronto, Montreal, Kingston and Quebec City.

 
1860-1865 Parliament is moved back to Quebec City where it became the temporary seat of government while new parliament buildings in Ottawa were being built.

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 The Province of Canada
Ottawa
Parliament was held in Ottawa in 1866.
1866 From June 8 th to August 16th, the Province of Canada held its final session in Ottawa.

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 The Province of Ontario and the Dominion of Canada
Toronto
The Government of Ontario holds its sessions in Toronto from 1867 - present.
1867 Confederation of the Dominion of Canada was proclaimed on July 1.

The new parliament building of Ottawa became the Federal seat of government and Toronto was named the capital of the province of Ontario. Provincial parliament would be held in the old Front Street building. However, fires in 1861 and 1862 left the building in great need of repair.

1880 The site for the new government building is Queen's Park, land that was formerly owned by King’s College, now part of the University of Toronto.

In April 1880, it was announced that a competition would be held for architects to design the new legislative building.

No one who entered the competition could stay below the prescribed cost of $500,000.

1885 The Legislature approved a budget of $750,000 for the new legislative building project.

The government appointed Richard A. Waite, an English born architect based in Buffalo, New York, to design the new parliament building.

1886 Construction of the Queen's Park building commenced.
1893 On April 4, the Queen's Park Legislative building was officially opened for the third session of the province’s seventh Parliament, with a formal ceremony, even though the construction was not complete. Approximately 20,000 people attended this event.

The Queen's Park legislative buildings ultimately did cost around $1,250,000.

1909 The growing population of Ontario dictated a growing government, so plans were made to add a north wing to the building.

On the afternoon of September 1 st, tinsmiths who were repairing the galvanized roof of the west wing accidentally started a fire that destroyed the west wing interior, including the legislative library.

1909-1912 The Queen's Park building was repaired and reconstructed and the north wing was also added.
1919 A decision was made to expand Queen's Park, as the government had grown so much causing people to occupy unused hallways, washrooms and the attic for their office space.
1925 - early 1930's An "East Block" building and a tunnel connecting to Queen's Park were built.
1966 On January 27, the East Block was renamed the Whitney Block in honour of Sir James Pliny Whitney, sixth Premier of Ontario.
1992 - present The Current Legislative BuildingIt is decided that the Queen's Park building is in need of major renovation and reconditioning. There have been on-going projects to restore parts of the building since 1992.

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