Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Relevant Video: Centre Block Construction Update (2025)
This official project update video visually documents the “rebuild” phase described in the story, including the excavation work and the structural reinforcement mentioned by the sources.
https://youtu.be/Rjpj5yVJBK4?si=LrHn7EyD7NNUDJ2M
OTTAWA — The massive excavation pit in front of Parliament Hill’s Centre Block is finally transforming into a structure, marking a pivotal turning point in the largest heritage rehabilitation project in Canadian history.
During a media tour of the construction site in late November, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) revealed that crews have begun pouring concrete for the lowest basement level of the new Parliament Welcome Centre. The milestone signals the shift from the precarious excavation phase—often dubbed the “Big Dig”—to the structural rebuild of the parliamentary precinct.
The project is being managed by a joint venture of PCL Constructors Canada Inc. and EllisDon Corp., which oversees the complex logistics of the estimated $4.5 billion to $5 billion renovation. However, the specialized task of excavating 40,000 truckloads of bedrock and shoring up the historic building was subcontracted to Ottawa-based Taggart Construction.
The most delicate engineering feat is occurring directly beneath the neo-Gothic structure. Taggart crews have been working to transfer the building’s load onto a temporary support network to allow for the installation of a base isolation system.
“Right now, we have steel piles… and that right now is holding up Parliament,” Joe Farquharson, a superintendent with Taggart Construction, told CTV News during the tour.
Farquharson’s team has driven steel piles around the perimeter of the existing footings. This temporary skeleton allows workers to excavate beneath the foundation to install more than 500 seismic isolators. These “shock absorbers” will eventually separate the building from the earth, protecting it from earthquakes by reducing impact forces by up to 60 per cent.
While Taggart manages the shoring, the wider team is focused on the new 23-metre-deep Parliament Welcome Centre. This three-storey underground facility will eventually serve as the public’s central entry point, connecting the West, Centre, and East Blocks with a secure concourse.
Construction has advanced to the installation of footings, walls, and elevator shafts. By spring 2026, five cranes will tower over the site to accelerate the structural work.
The skyline of the capital is also set for a major change. PSPC confirmed that starting in the spring of 2026, a steel scaffolding frame will begin rising around the 92-metre-tall Peace Tower.
To minimize visual disruption for tourists, the scaffolding will be wrapped in a decorative tarp featuring a trompe-l’œil image of the tower, according to a report by CBC News.
Jennifer Garrett, assistant deputy minister of the science and parliamentary infrastructure branch, told a parliamentary committee that the framework is necessary for safe access to complete masonry repairs and window replacements. She noted that 65 per cent of the steel used in the project is Canadian-made.
Despite the progress, officials cautioned that the project faces ongoing pressures.
“We’ve had COVID, we’ve had inflation, we’ve had labour shortages, so those give us challenges,” Siavash Mohajer, senior construction director with PSPC, said in an interview with CTV News. “But we’re always agile and ready to readapt to those challenges.”
The Centre Block has been closed since late 2018. If the current schedule holds, construction will wrap up in 2031, with the building reopening to the public in 2032 following a year of commissioning.
