Centre Block restoration to cost up to $5B

Federal officials say the massive restoration project of Parliament's Centre Block will cost up to $5 billion and continue at least until 2030.

Public Services and Procurement Canada says construction on the traditional seat of the House of Commons is expected to wrap before 2032, with a cost of between $4.5 billion and $5 billion.

We’re restoring and modernizing the #CentreBlock, Canada’s main Parliament building, so that it meets the needs of a 21st-century Parliament and is accessible to all Canadians for generations to come: https://t.co/XKINYmryp7 #HistoryInTheMaking pic.twitter.com/JBt3XdtOjS

— Public Services (@PSPC_SPAC) June 17, 2021

Officials say MPs, who have been legislating out of West Block since 2019 when work on Centre Block ramped up, won't return to their usual Victorian Gothic digs until testing on chambers and committee rooms is complete post-construction.

The government projects the decade-long overhaul will create 70,000 jobs across the country, including the 1,500-plus construction workers expected onsite daily in the coming years.

Centre Block, which includes the iconic Peace Tower, is now cloaked in scaffolding and bracketed by a pair of cranes as work continues on what officials describe as "the largest and most complex heritage rehabilitation" in Canadian history.

Restoration of the 94-year-old building will include demolition work, abatement of hazardous materials and efforts to modernize the building to 21st-century standards of energy-efficiency, accessibility and security.