Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada

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An Ontario historical plaque marking the site of Upper Canada's first Parliament Buildings.

The first Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada were built at the foot of Parliament and Front Streets in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto, Ontario). The complex of three buildings (two wood and one brick) served from 1798–1813, when it was burned to the ground by invading United States troops during the War of 1812.

The first Parliament Buildings did not serve the first parliament, however, but the second. The first session was held from 1792–1796 in Navy Hall at Newark, Upper Canada, now called Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. It was relocated by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, who decided, in 1793, that York would provide less exposure to attack from the United States. In the end, both Navy Hall and the Parliament Buildings at York were destroyed in the War of 1812.

By 1820, new Parliament Buildings were erected, with a connecting center block added. Four years later, an overheated chimney flue caused a fire which reduced them to ruins. The site was abandoned, and new Parliament Buildings were erected by 1832 on Front Street, west of Simcoe Street. These third Parliament Buildings were the last to serve Upper Canada, for it dissolved into the Province of Canada in 1841. But the buildings continued to host the legislature of the Province of Canada at various times between 1849 and 1859, then became the first parliament buildings of Ontario when the province was created on July 1, 1867. New parliament buildings would eventually be constructed at Queen's Park, replacing the Front Street location in 1893.

The site of the first Parliament Buildings is currently a parking lot at a car dealership. A dig at the site is now documenting the existence of the buildings and there are demands to preserve the site.