Canada House (french: Maison du Canada) is a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

building on

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It has been a Grade II*

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 1970. It has served as the offices of the

High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom (french: Haut-commissariat du Canada au Royaume-Uni) is the diplomatic mission of Canada to the United Kingdom. It is housed at Canada House on Trafalgar Square in central London, with an addi ...

since 1925.

History

The building which would later become known as Canada House was built between 1824 and 1827 to designs by Sir Robert Smirke, the architect of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. It was originally two buildings used by the Union Club and the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

. Under the leadership of High Commissioner

Peter Charles Larkin Peter Charles Larkin, (May 14, 1855 – February 3, 1930) was a Canadian businessman, diplomat and political patron. Business career Larkin, a world traveller who specialized in finding foodstuffs for import, was best known for founding the ...

the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

acquired the Union Club in 1923 for the sum of £223,000.Canada House – the Government of Canada's showpiece for close to a century
Canada International It was Larkin's intention to centralise the work of 200 Canadian employees scattered among offices in Victoria Street in one central building. Renovations cost $1.3 million CDN and were supervised by the architect

Septimus Warwick Septimus Warwick (1881-1953) was a British architect who started his career as a designer of town halls in a partnership with H. Austen Hall. Warwick designed Lambeth Town Hall on Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton, London SW2, a Grade II li ...

, who moved the main entrance from Trafalgar Square to Cockspur Street. The designers imported Canadian furniture, carpets and maple and birch flooring. The exterior was reclad in Portland stone to match the facade of the Royal College of Physicians. The building was officially opened on 29 June 1925 by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. When he declared Canada House open, King George said: "Canada is a great country: alike in the literal sense of vast extent from 'sea to sea' and great in achievement and in promise: and it is right and necessary that its official representatives here should be housed in a manner worthy of the Dominion and adequate to the discharge of their ever-growing and important duties." During the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, a bomb fell near the building, only away from future Canadian prime minister

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

, who was the secretary to the High Commissioner at the time. Canada increased its presence by acquiring the future Macdonald House, located at 1 Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, in 1961. In 1993, Canada House was closed by the Canadian government as a cost-cutting measure with the intention of selling it. A change of government in Canada saw this decision reversed and renovations were planned instead, beginning in 1997. The building was officially reopened by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, as

Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, in May 1998. To commemorate the reopening, a detachment from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, came to London and mounted the

Queen's Guard The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official royal residences in the U ...

at Buckingham Palace. Ontario Room

Canada House was closed again in 2010 and re-opened in 2012 for the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

. It was used as Canada Olympic House during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The main work of the High Commission, including consular, public affairs, political, trade and administrative functions was then carried out from Macdonald House in Mayfair. In February 2013 the Government of Canada announced that it would consolidate its diplomatic presence at Canada House and sell off Macdonald House. As part of the plan the building next door to Canada House, known as 2-4 Cockspur Street, was acquired by Canada in 2013 (until this date 2-4 Cockspur Street served as headquarters of the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

). The building at 2-4 Cockspur Street was constructed between 1926 and 1929 for Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and had served as the Canadian Army's overseas headquarters in London during World War II. Over the next two years 2-4 Cockspur Street and Canada House were renovated. As part of the renovation, 2-4 Cockspur Street was joined to Canada House in July 2014. In November 2013 Macdonald House was sold, although as part of the transaction the diplomatic staff was permitted to stay until the renovations to Canada House were completed and the diplomatic staff did not move to Canada House until December 2014. The Canadian High Commission transferred all of its diplomatic functions to Canada House on 15 December 2014. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh once again officially reopened Canada House on 19 February 2015.

Current functions

Canada House is the home of the

High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

. It hosts consular facilities for Canadians to renew passports or apply for emergency assistance, visa and immigration processing services, a military liaison office, trade officers, political officers and a public affairs section. Canada House is used for special events, hosting conferences, receptions, lectures and lunches. The Canada House Gallery stages exhibitions of historical and contemporary art and artefacts. Mackenzie King Rm Canada House

Gallery

File:Front entrance of Canada House.jpg, Front entrance of Canada House File:British Columbia Rm, Canada House.jpg, British Columbia Room, Canada House File:51 CHC Fit-out13-11.jpg, Aerial view of Canada House and Trafalgar Square File:Canada House in 1926.jpg, Canada House in 1926 File:London Canada House Night 2.jpg, Canada House by night, showing the flags of the

provinces and territories of Canada Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

on the side File:Canada House 2013.jpg, Entrance on

Cockspur Street Cockspur Street is a short street in the City of Westminster, London, within which a very short part of Trafalgar Square links Charing Cross to Pall Mall/Pall Mall East at the point where that road changes name, opposite the traffic exit from ...

File:Flagsoncanadahouse.JPG, Provincial and territorial flags on Canada House File:Canada House with flags.jpg, Canada House with flags File:Manitoba Room.jpg, The Manitoba Room in Canada House File:Canada House green roof.jpg, Green roof on top of Canada House

References

External links

*
High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom in London
{{Authority control Trafalgar Square Cultural infrastructure completed in 1827 Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom 1923 establishments in the United Kingdom Art museums and galleries in London Canadian art Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Canada–United Kingdom relations

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Museums in the City of Westminster Cultural centers Robert Smirke (architect) buildings Georgian architecture in London Neoclassical architecture in London Transatlantic cultural exchange 1827 establishments in England

History

Current functions

Gallery

See also

References

External links