Canada House: A History
Early in 1922, a Canadian tea merchant named Peter Larkin arrived in London. He was a natural marketer who had created Canada’s iconic Salada Tea brand and he set out to put a new face on Canada in the UK. From the time he was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom on 10 February, by Prime Minister Mackenzie King, he was charged with consolidating all of Canada’s activities in Britain → view the story
Story Archive
The Queen Elizabeth Atrium
The Atrium off the Cockspur Street entrance to Canada House creates the opportunity to bring natural light into the heart of the building, to celebrate Canadian building products and design and to create a visual meeting space for High Commission staff → read the story
Ontario
Known as Upper Canada after the Constitution Act of 1791, Ontario is one of Canada’s four founding colonies. Canada’s most populous province, it is the ancestral home of the Ojibwa, Algonquin and Iroquois First Nations, among others. Its name is believed to mean ‘beautiful waters’ in the original Iroquoian → read the story
Even the Stone Needs Care and Attention
Stone seems so immutable, but in London it can take a beating. Soot, exhaust and just the wear and tear of the elements mean ongoing care and attention is essential → read the story
Northwest Territories
In Inuktitut the Northwest Territories are referred to as ‘Nunatsiaq’, which means ‘beautiful land’. Reaching for over 1.3 million square kilometres, it is home to the Great Bear Lake, the largest lake in Canada, and the Great Slave Lake, the deepest body of water in North America. The 1,738km-long Mackenzie River travels from deep in the heart of the continent to the Arctic Ocean, through the canyons of the Nahanni National Park Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago → read the story
Artist Profile: Gordon Smith
In the summer of 2014, at the age of 94, Smith toured Canada House with High Commissioner Campbell. They spoke of the plans for the building as a way of representing Canada in the 21st century with its focus on Canada and Canadians. Inspired by the new vision for Canada House, Smith decided to create a special painting for the High Commission → read the story
Quebec
Once called Lower Canada, Quebec is one of the country’s four founding provinces. It is the heart of French culture in North America. As Canada’s largest province, it occupies an area about three times the size of France. Before European contact, Quebec
was inhabited by the Inuit, Algonquian and Iroquois First Nations. Its name comes from the Algonquian word kébec, meaning‘where the river narrows’ → read the story