The Confederation Building is a gothic revival office building in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Located just west of the Parliament Buildings at Bank and Wellington Streets, it is generally considered part of Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...

. Originally the land where the Confederation Building, and also the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

, now stand had contained homes and businesses. These were expropriated by the government to allow for the construction of new federal buildings. The new building was designed by Clarence Burritt. Work on the Confederation Building began when the cornerstone was laid by the Governor General on July 1, 1927 as part of the celebrations of Canada's Diamond Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...

 and it opened during 1931. It originally housed workers in a number of departments, with the Department of Agriculture

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, also referred to as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada , is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies governing agriculture production, farming income, research and development, inspection, and the regulation of animals...

 being the largest tenant. Today it is home both to civil servants and to a number of MPs and ministers. Many of the Conservative

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

 MPs have their offices in it. As part of the ongoing work on Parliament Hill there are currently discussions to fill the space between the Confederation Building and the smaller Justice Building

Justice Building

The Justice Building in Ottawa was previously home to the Department of Justice , and now houses offices of Members of Parliament. It is similar in design as the Confederation Building, to which it is just west....

to create more office space. This has been contested by some however, due to a government daycare that is open to hill staff that is already there.

At the same time, the masonry of the Confederation Building is being cleaned and refurbished. This work began during 2008.