The House and its Members / The Physical and Administrative Setting

150th anniversary of the first meeting on Parliament Hill

Debates, pp. 4192–3

Context

On June 8, 2016, the Speaker delivered a statement to highlight the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of the Legislature of the Province of Canada on Parliament Hill.

Statement of the Chair

The Speaker: Hon. colleagues, today we are celebrating an important anniversary: the 150th anniversary of the first meeting on Parliament Hill.

On June 8, 1866, the Legislature of the Province of Canada met for the first time in the new Parliament Building in Ottawa. Prior to the opening of the Parliament Building in Ottawa, sessions were held in Quebec City. Although the building was not completely finished, the Legislature assembled in the very location that would become the Chamber of the House of Commons.

On June 8, 1866, at 2 p.m., a gun salute marked the arrival of His Excellency Lord Monck, who then ceremoniously made his way to the Legislative Council chamber. In his speech, he stated:

I venture to express the confident expectation that the next Parliament which will be held within these walls will not be confined to an Assembly of the Representatives of Canada, but will embrace those of all the Colonies of British North America.

Speaker Lewis Wallbridge presided over the legislature, which included 84 members, half representing Canada East and half representing Canada West. Present in the chamber on this day were John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie, and John Abbott as well as George-Étienne Cartier and Thomas D’Arcy McGee, to name but a few of the assembled members.

This auspicious occasion marked the final session of the Legislature of the Province of Canada.

After Confederation, this legislature was replaced by the Parliament of Canada, and the first session of the first Parliament of the Parliament of Canada was held right here, in the House of Commons, on November 6, 1867.

All of us are marching in the footsteps of these honourable men.

Editor’s Note

To commemorate the occasion, parliamentarians gathered in front of Centre Block for a photograph. A time-lapse video of the gathering was also created.