Tuesday 17 May: The home of Canada’s government was originally built between 1859 and 1865, and overlooks the Ottawa River. It consists of three main buildings – the Centre Block of the Parliament, which houses the Commons and the Senate, the Library and the Peace Tower.

The Library was closed for extensive renovation when we visited. The Peace Tower is 295ft high and commemorates the 67,000 Canadians killed during World War One. Included throughout the Peace Tower are 53 bells weighing between 10 pounds and 11 tons. The original Centre Block burned down in 1916. It was rebuilt except for the wooden cladding which originally surrounded the stonework.

The Centre Block tour would usually be quite interesting. Except when we visited, the library was out of bounds for its renovation, both houses were in session which meant we couldn’t tour them, so all we got to see were a couple of corridors. However, we went up the Peace Tower and later sat in the public gallery of The Commons, which at the time only had about 8 members of parliament sitting.

The East Block holds the offices for the governing party, the West Block for the opposition and anyone who can’t fit in the East Block. There are little green buses which ferry parliamentary MPs and workers between the three buildings.