Province House, Parliamentary building in Halifax, Canada
Province House is a three-storey stone building on a block bounded by Hollis, Granville, George and Prince streets in Halifax. Its lower storey is rusticated stone with horizontal grooving, the two upper storeys smooth ashlar in pale grey-beige, and the facade has a round-arched entrance with a fanlight and tall arched windows above. A low metal railing edges the flat roofline; a black cannon and flower bed sit in front.
Province House opened on February 11, 1819, on the site of Edward Cornwallis's 1749 Governor's House, and has hosted the Nova Scotia House of Assembly every year since, making it Canada's oldest government building. It originally housed the colony's executive, legislative and judicial functions, and in 1848 was the site of the first responsible government in the British Empire outside the United Kingdom.
The building serves as home to Nova Scotia's Legislative Assembly and remains a place where provincial political decisions take shape. Inside, you can walk through rooms where debates and laws continue to affect the lives of residents today.
Province House occupies a full block in downtown Halifax, bounded by Hollis, Granville, George and Prince streets. The legislative chamber, the former Supreme Court room now serving as the legislative library, and the Red Chamber are all on the upper floors, reached by stairs. The building is a National Historic Site and a Provincially Registered Property, so some rooms may be closed when the House of Assembly is sitting.
The building was the site of Joseph Howe's trial in 1835, when a printer faced charges for criticizing the governor in print. The case established press freedom as a fundamental right in Canadian law.
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