Canada House

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Not to be confused with Canada House (Berlin).
Canada House
Canada House.jpg
Canada House on Trafalgar Square.
Former names Union Club, Royal College of Physicians
General information
Type Office building, Cultural centre
Architectural style Greek Revival
Location Trafalgar Square, London
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Current tenants High Commission of Canada in London
Construction started 1824
Completed 1827
Owner The Queen in Right of Canada
Design and construction
Architect Robert Smirke
Other designers Septimus Warwick

Canada House (French: Maison du Canada) is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London that is part of the High Commission of Canada in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970.[1]

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.[2] It was originally two buildings used by the Union Club and the Royal College of Physicians. Under the leadership of High Commissioner Peter Charles Larkin the Canadian government acquired the Union Club in 1923 for the sum of £223,000.[3] 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, 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.[3]

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."[4]

During the London Blitz, a bomb fell near the building, only 20 yards (18 m) away from future Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson, who was the secretary to the High Commissioner at the time.[5] Canada increased its presence by acquiring the future Macdonald House in 1961.[6]

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, as Queen of Canada, 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 at Buckingham Palace.[7]

Canada House was closed again in 2010 and re-opened in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee. 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.[8] In November 2013 Macdonald House was sold off.[9]

The Canadian High Commission returned all their 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.[10]

Current functions

Canada House is the home of the Canadian High Commission to the United Kingdom. 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.

Gallery

  • Canada House in 1926.jpg

    Canada House in 1926

  • London Canada House Night 2.jpg

    Canada House by night, showing the flags of the provinces and territories of Canada on the side

  • Canada House 2013.jpg

    Entrance on Cockspur Street

  • Flagsoncanadahouse.JPG

    Provincial and territorial flags on Canada House

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Major contest launched for overhaul of London's Canada House Architects Journal, 15 March 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Canada House – the Government of Canada's showpiece for close to a century Canada International
  4. ↑ King George V, 1910–1936
  5. ↑ Canada House, circa 1941, after the London Blitz
  6. ↑ Good riddance to Grosvenor Square: Canada House is our real home The Globe and Mail, 29 November 2013
  7. ↑ Changing the Guard
  8. ↑ Passport and Services
  9. ↑ Canada.com – Canada sells diplomatic mansion Macdonald House in London to Indian developer for $530M. Retrieved 29 Nov 2013.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

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