Peace Tower - History

History

Coming immediately after the destruction of the parliament buildings by fire in 1916, the Peace Tower's conception coincided with the end of the First World War. With this in mind, Prime Minister Robert Borden dedicated the site of the tower on 1 July 1917, with the words: " memorial to the debt of our forefathers and to the valour of those Canadians who, in the Great War, fought for the liberties of Canada, of the Empire, and of humanity." Two years later, the Peace Tower's foundation stone was laid by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), during his wider royal tour of Canada, and the structure was topped out in 1922. In the summer of 1925, an informal ceremony was held in the Memorial Chamber wherein Governor General of Canada the Viscount Byng of Vimy; Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King; Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition Arthur Meighen; and the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces during World War I, the Earl Haig, laid the base stones of the clustered marble columns that support the fan vault ceiling. The Prince of Wales then returned to Ottawa again in 1927 to dedicate the altar of the Memorial Chamber and to inaugurate the Dominion Carillon, the first playing of which on that day was heard by listeners across the country on the first ever coast-to-coast radio broadcast in Canada.

Starting in 1994, the Peace Tower was covered and the accessible spaces closed for a two year conservation project aimed at reversing deterioration of the masonry and preventing further moisture penetration. However, the machinery of the clock was not within the scope of work and, on 24 May 2006, the clock stopped for the first time in 28 years, with the display inactive at 7:28 for about one day.