Here's what the Centre Block renovations on Parliament Hill look like

OTTAWA -

More than four years after MPs moved out of Centre Block on Parliament Hill for the decade-long renovation to the historic building, journalists got a behind-the-scenes look at the project’s progress Thursday.

The massive project is slated to run until 2031, cost between $4.5 and $5 billion, and is on track to be completed on time.

“This is the largest heritage rehabilitation project that’s ever taken place in Canada,” said Public Services and Procurement Canada assistant deputy minister Rob Wright on the tour.

“We have to balance restoring the heritage with universal accessibility, with sustainability, with meeting modern requirements of Parliament, and creating greater access for Canadians, and creating a more secure environment,” he added. “That’s a tall order.”

The original Centre Block building is being completely overhauled, with heritage and art elements carefully removed for restoration, while the core of the building undergoes a thorough upgrade.

Those include a seismic retrofit, removal of 23 million pounds of material containing asbestos, and a major excavation process to create new square footage underground. The excavation is also extending into a new visitors’ welcome centre in front of the building.

Protective plywood covers the much of the Hall of Honour, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

Extensive work is underway for a seismic retrofit of the building, with the intent of preserving Parliament in the event of an earthquake. Work seen here during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

Wright said the conservation of heritage assets, asbestos abatement and the mass excavation were the first phase of the construction process, which is now nearing completion.

Phase two of the project has already started, and involves upgrading the building itself, which previously only met about 30 per cent of modern seismic codes, and 25 per cent of modern fire codes.

Centre Block renovation by the numbers:

• More than 20,000 heritage assets, including stained glass windows, sculptures and more are being removed and stored.
• 200,000 artifacts uncovered on site
• 40,000 truckloads of bedrock removed, in the “mass excavation”
• More than 450 construction personnel working daily
• More than 70,000 jobs the government estimates will be created by the project

Centre Block’s intricately carved rotunda is being protected as construction continues all around it, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

The building is also filled with Canadian art, from unique carvings to stained glass, which is overseen by the dominion sculptor of Canada.

Canada’s current dominion sculptor, John Philippe Smith, is working with a small team to rebuild or repair about 40 pieces of decorative work for this project. He will then get to put his own touch on the building, returning to the stones that remain uncarved throughout Centre Block.

However, some pieces are so damaged the team will need to rebuild or recreate them entirely by studying the disintegrating sculptures to carve new versions based on what Smith can decipher from the remaining structure.

Approximately 40 pieces of sculpted stone need to be repaired as part of the renovation project, some pictured here during a media tour of Centre Block renovations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

A pane of stained glass set to be restored as part of the Centre Block renovations, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

The third phase of the project will be putting it all back together: bringing in new mechanical equipment, new technology for Parliament, and reapplying the heritage and art pieces that were removed for restoration and safekeeping during the renovation.

All of Centre Block’s 250 stained glass windows are also being restored — some with more than 100 panels — by re-leading each individual panel with a stronger alloy to preserve the art pieces.

Despite the massive scale of this renovation, the familiar public spaces of the building will look largely the same as they did before Centre Block closed in 2018.

Delicate materials are being carefully removed for protection and reconstruction while the construction project continues, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

Delicate heritage pieces have been temporarily removed or protected, so that historic spaces can be put back together once construction is completed, while the design team has worked to minimize noticeable changes to the building’s iconic facade.

Those with a particularly keen eye will notice part of the roof being raised by 4.5 meters, and once the lawn is replaced over the new visitors centre — currently a gigantic pit — there will actually be a little extra green space.

The current state of the entrance typically reserved for Members of Parliament, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

Centre Block’s intricately carved rotunda is being protected as construction continues all around it, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

The House of Commons has meanwhile been stripped back, with the chairs for all 338 MPs removed as restoration and renovation work continues. The design team is maintaining the square footage of the room itself, but will have to squeeze in extra seating, as Canada is expected to have an additional five MPs by the time Parliament is back in Centre Block.

Parliament Hill’s new visitor centre will include a public cafeteria, gift shop, exhibit space run by the Library of Parliament, and multipurpose classroom space for tours, among other features. Allowing the Library of Parliament, which oversees tours to double the number of visitors they can accommodate each year.

It will also allow Parliament Hill security to screen visitors before they enter the building.

Wright compared the old system of screening visitors once they were already inside Centre Block to screening air travellers once they were already on the plane.

Those visitors will also have a new entrance, coming in through the underground centre before entering Centre Block through covered courtyards that were previously unused.

A three-story addition will be built on top of the famous Hall of Honour to create common space for MPs and Senators to meet, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek

Centre Block's under-construction west courtyard, seen from the roof during a media tour of Centre Block renovations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek