Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill, officially known in French as Colline du Parlement, is a scenic location on the banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada. The best known building is the Centre Block, with its prominent Peace Tower, a national symbol. The richly decorated interior of the centre block contains allegorical scenes.

Major Events

Every July 1, Canadians gather on Parliament Hill to celebrate Canada Day. During the summer months, people gather to watch the Changing of the Guard on the lawn in front of the Parliament Buildings. A similar ceremony is also performed at Rideau Hall, the governor general's residence.

Related Topics:
July 1 - Canada Day - Changing of the Guard - Rideau Hall

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Among the major events Parliament Hill has hosted:

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• the millennium celebrations
• Canadians lying in state. Among them:
• Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-lo/petricic_trudeau000930.ram http://ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/video/trudeau/smith_liesinstate_000930_hi.wmv
• Canada's Unknown Soldier
• Canada's memorial service to honour the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in 2001, which Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci presided over and over 100,000 attended. http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-newsworld/ottawa_memorial010914.ram While the rest of the world saw the service at the Washington National Cathedral, this simultaneous service--which Prime Minister Paul Martin called "the largest single vigil" ever seen in the nation's capital, http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp?category=2&id=343 http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/05/le.01.html was televised live across Canada.