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House of Commons of Canada

1867 establishments in CanadaHouse of Commons of CanadaInfobox legislature with background colorNational lower housesUse Canadian English from April 2025
Use mdy dates from April 2025Westminster system in Canada
West Block Temp House of Commons, 2022
West Block Temp House of Commons, 2022

The House of Commons of Canada (French: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as members of Parliament (MPs). The number of MPs is adjusted periodically in alignment with each decennial census. Since the 2025 federal election, the number of seats in the House of Commons has been 343. Members are elected by simple plurality ("first-past-the-post" system) in each of the country's electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election. Historically, however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an act of Parliament now limits each term to four years. Seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to the population. The British North America Act 1867 (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) created the House of Commons, modelling it on the British House of Commons. The lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons, in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both chambers is necessary for legislation to become law, the Senate only occasionally amends bills passed by the House of Commons and rarely rejects them. Moreover, the Cabinet is responsible primarily to the House of Commons. The government stays in office only so long as they retain the support, or "confidence", of the lower house. The traditional meeting chamber of the House of Commons is in the Centre Block of the Parliament Hill complex in Ottawa. However, as of 2026, Centre Block is undergoing renovations; the House of Commons is therefore meeting in a temporary chamber in the West Block of the complex.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article House of Commons of Canada (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

House of Commons of Canada
Wellington Street, Ottawa Centretown (Somerset)

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
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Wikipedia: House of Commons of CanadaContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 45.423333333333 ° E -75.700555555556 °
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Address

West Block

Wellington Street
K1P 5M4 Ottawa, Centretown (Somerset)
Ontario, Canada
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West Block Temp House of Commons, 2022
West Block Temp House of Commons, 2022
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Nearby Places

National Press Building (Ottawa)
National Press Building (Ottawa)

The National Press Building in Ottawa, Canada is a building on Wellington Street, just across from the West Block of the Parliament Buildings, that houses the Parliamentary Press Gallery. The building is owned by the federal government. Originally the press had their offices inside the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings. By the mid-1960s these areas had become overcrowded, and the large number of journalists based in desks lined against the walls of hallways were deemed a fire hazard. Thus the press were moved to their new home across the street. The Italian Renaissance building, originally named the Norlite Building, had been constructed in 1917-1919 and originally held several government agencies. Offices in the building are provided to journalists at cost by the federal government, with some other facilities remaining in the Centre Block. The building is home to a wide array of news agencies, both national and foreign, and all forms of media. The building is often described as "dingy" and the offices are very small, and many larger organizations thus choose to base their reporters elsewhere. In 2004, the CBC moved its parliamentary bureau from the building to the new CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre. The National Press Club is situated on the second floor. From 2008 to 2010, the Global Television Network had the studio of its weeknight Global National newscast in a purpose-built green screen studio in the building. The only national newscast to be anchored in the nation's capital, the program was normally anchored by Kevin Newman who presented to cameras remotely controlled by producers in the network's Vancouver control centre. The combination of digitally controlled cameras and the green screen gave the impression of a much larger studio space than is actually there.

Sir John A. Macdonald Building
Sir John A. Macdonald Building

The Sir John A. Macdonald Building is a former bank building in Ottawa now owned by the federal government of Canada. It is located at 144 Wellington Street, at the corner of O'Connor Street, with a third frontage on Sparks Street, just in front of West Block of Parliament. Its façade indicates its former heritage as a Bank of Montreal branch location. It is an example of Beaux-Arts architecture. Designed by E.I. Barott, it was built in 1930. It reflects the integration of several styles including classical elements that had long been used to design Canadian banks. The Doric columns or the classical structure are flattened. Rather than classical figures the exterior of the building is carved with scenes depicting Canadian industry and architecture. As the building is on a slope the Sparks Street entrance is a storey below the Wellington Street one. This below grade section is made of granite, while the upper level is of limestone. The Government of Canada ordered the Bank of Montreal to vacate the building before May 2005. The Bank of Montreal was the last commercial building on this downtown street, just in front of the Parliament buildings. Now all buildings on Wellington Street between Elgin Street and the Ottawa River Parkway are Federal Government property. On 11 Jan 2012, the building was renamed the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.As of 2015, the building is used for parliamentary business and reception functions.