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Famous Tenants

On the bitterly cold night of February 3, 1916, a fire alarm was raised in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The fire, which was probably started as a smouldering cigar in the Parliamentary Reading Room, destroyed the Centre Block of Canada’s Parliament Buildings.

The government did not interrupt its work. On the morning after the fire, the amphitheatre of the museum was converted into a temporary Commons Chamber. That afternoon, the members sat and conducted business as usual.

The Parliament of Canada stayed in the building for four years. A motorcycle messenger shuttle was arranged between the remaining offices on Parliament Hill and the Museum.

The Senate of Canada also moved into the west wing, taking over the first-floor mineral gallery. That this room had formerly held the Invertebrate Fossils gallery was a source of amusement at the time.

Many important decisions were debated and laws passed in the museum over the next four years. One such law was the Military Service Act, 1917, which instituted a war-time draft to recruit Canadian soldiers. Also in 1917, the law that introduced income tax was passed, originally intended as a temporary war measure.

In 1918, Parliament passed An Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women, which recognized the right of Canadian women to vote in national elections.