The Lester B. Pearson Building is an office building in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located at 125

Sussex Drive Sussex Drive (french: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ot ...

in the

Lower Town Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, ...

neighbourhood and currently serves as the headquarters of

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

. It was officially opened on 1 August 1973 by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. It is named after

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

, former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

and external affairs minister which has earned it the nickname "Fort Pearson". The building was designed by the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

-based architectural firm of Webb Zerafa Menkes and is described as " late modern with an influence of Brutalism". The building consists of four "towers" ranging from 4 to 10 storeys, of which three are interconnected from the first to the fifth floor. In 2013, the Department of Public Works and Government Services designated the office complex a Federal Heritage Building for its "historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values". In 2019, work began towards renovating the building, with major changes being made to both the interior and exterior. Walls will be torn down and individual offices removed in favour of a new activity-based working model. The project is estimated to cost $700 million and is scheduled to be completed in 2028.

References

Federal government buildings in Ottawa Brutalist architecture in Canada Government buildings completed in 1973 1973 establishments in Ontario Sussex Drive {{Ontario-struct-stub