Founding

The site was first developed in 1931 to become the first permanent home of the United States Embassy.^[1] Located directly across Parliament Hill, the embassy was opened in 1934, and thus marked the first foreign mission in Ottawa.^[2] Though Canada was still a part of the British Commonwealth, the erection of the foreign mission in the nation's capital served as a "...benchmark in Canada's gradual assumption of sovereignty over its own foreign affairs".^[2] Then Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, assured the United States that Canada would be an autonomous nation by the time the embassy was planned for completion in 1932. Canada would receive its independence through the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and the building was first opened 1932 as an American Legation, and in 1934 as a full embassy. Its construction also signified the rise of power, and establishment of the United States as a global leader, as the building was part of a series of newly constructed embassies by the United States government around the world.

Architecture and design

The building's design, by American architect Cass Gilbert, reflects the Beaux-Arts classical style, and is reflective of typical United States government architecture of the early 1930s.^[3] Consisting of three storeys, the building's "... rectilinear footprint, flat roof, and symmetrical composition centred on the main entrance of the principal elevation… possesses a simple, imposing cube-like massing".^[4] The spatial hierarchy of the building maintains the Beaux-Arts characteristics of grand circulation spaces that lead to principal offices, while corridors of secondary and tertiary importance lead to other office and support spaces.^[3] The building is finished in Indiana Limestone, and features finely carved classical details on its principal facades, while Vermont marble, and floor-to-ceiling oak panels fashion the interior spaces.^[5] The building fits "...harmoniously within a row of similarly scaled and finished buildings", all of which face the Parliamentary Precinct.^[3] On January 8, 1985, the building was recognized by the Government of Canada as a Classified Federal Heritage Building^[4] and is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.^[6]

Designation

Since 1999, when the United States Embassy relocated to a site west of Parliament Hill, the building on 100 Wellington has remained vacant.^[7] In 2001, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Government put forward the intent to transform the former embassy into a National Portrait Gallery, an effort to display some of the over 20,000 portrait paintings and photographs housed within the National Archives of Canada.^[8] However, when the Conservative government took power in 2006, the project was cancelled, and instead "...a national competition for private sector bidders to house the portraits in one of nine cities" was launched in November 2007.^[9] The following year, the competition was cancelled due to none of the bids meeting the government's expectations.^[9]

In the summer of 2016, an online survey, and public consultations were conducted to determine the future use of 100 Wellington. Over 7,000 Canadian respondents completed the survey, with the final results revealing that the "Canada House" proposal, to house contemporary and historic Canadian artefacts, had the most support, while an art gallery and Indigenous cultural centre placed second and third respectively.^[10] On National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the former United States Embassy would become an Indigenous Peoples Space, and represent the cultures and histories of the three indigenous groups of Canada; First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.^[11]

Controversy

The announcement of the dedication of 100 Wellington to the Indigenous Peoples was met with criticism by the Indigenous Task Force, part of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, made up of 30 Indigenous architects, students, interns, and academics.^[12] The designation of the former embassy was critiqued as not a culturally appropriate space for an Indigenous cultural centre, as the building's "...classical revival architecture style is most identified with colonization, "echoing structures of European authority".^[13]

Demonstration

After the designation of space to the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nations, the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation protested for equal partnership of the space as the location sits on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation.^[14] After repeated and rejected requests to the Canadian government, the Nation's Grand Chief, Verna Polson, commenced a hunger and water strike in the summer of 2019, blocking the main entrance of the 100 Wellington building. After 41 hours, the federal government granted the Algonquin Nation as a fourth partner to the project.^[14]