Queen's Park Picks 2026

For the 11^th year in a row, the OAA’s Queen’s Park Picks (QP Picks) program invited Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to nominate their favourite buildings or other structures from their ridings that highlights the community’s unique architectural heritage, celebrates the rich legacy of architecture in Ontario, and aligns with this year’s theme, Collaboration Powering Innovation. Earlier this year, 28 MPPs from all political parties submitted 41 nominations. Of those, the nine projects below were selected by a jury of architects to comprise the 2026 QP Picks which, are celebrated at a special reception held at Queen's Park in Toronto.

This year’s theme, Collaboration Powering Innovation, inspired province-wide nominations, with MPPs from across all political parties suggesting exemplary places that have significantly impacted their constituents. The theme aligns with the 2026 OAA Conference's and it speaks to a central challenge for the profession. To achieve a resilient, adaptive, and functional built environment, we must examine the tools for better co-creating with project team collaborators, clients, citizens, and municipalities. It also highlights the essential role of adaptability in design, urging the profession to create sustainable solutions for a rapidly changing world.

Scroll down to learn more about the new selections or click here to see the full list, including other QP Picks from previous years.

Collage of the 9 2026 Queens Park Picks.

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Collage of the 9 Queens Park Picks.

The OAA and MPPs Celebrate Ontario Architecture

The OAA reveals the 2026 selections for its annual Queen’s Park Picks (QP Picks) program—a collaboration with Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) across the province who share a passion for our built environment in all its many forms.

2026 Selections

Each year, the selection process is a painstaking deliberation by the Policy Advisory Coordination Team (PACT) committee members at the Ontario Association of Architects. While not all nominations can be featured here, the OAA appreciates the dedicated MPPs who, each year, take the time to share this part of their communities with all of us. You can also see previous Queen’s Park Picks by clicking here.

48 King West Hotel
Location: Brockville, Ontario
Completed: 1922
Architect: W. & W.R.L. Blackwell (1922)
Renovation Architect: Cora Lia Taraciuk (2019)
Designers: Brandy Gould, Rob Thompson (2019)
Nominated by: Hon. Steve Clark, MPP (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)

Art Gallery of Hamilton

Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Completed: 1977 (original building), 2005 (renovation and addition)
Architect: Trevor Garwood-Jones
Renovation Architect: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (now KPMB Architects)
Nominated by: Robin Lennox, MPP (Hamilton-Centre)

Dominion of Canada Building
Location: Port Stanley, Ontario
Completed: 1930, 2024 (renovation)
Architect: Government of Canada, Department of Public Works (1930)
Renovation Architect: Philip Agar Architect Inc. (2024)
Nominated by: Hon. Rob Flack, MPP (Elgin-Middlesex-London)

Limberlost Place
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Completed: 2025
Architect: Moriyama Teshima Architects in a joint venture with Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Nominated by: Chris Glover, MPP (Spadina-Fort York)
NCC River House
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Completed: 1914-25, 2019-23 (renovation)
Architect: Colborne Powell Meredith (1914-25)
Renovation & Addition Architect: Provencher_Roy (formerly GRC Architects)
Nominated by: Lucille Collard, MPP (Ottawa-Vanier)

Queen's Park
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Completed: 1893
Architect: Richard A. Waite (1893)
Renovation and Addition Architect: Edward James Lennox (West Wing, 1913); George Wallace Gouinlock (North Wing, 1913); Diamond Schmitt with ERA Architects (Visitor Centre, 2021)
Nominated by: Hon. Doug Ford, MPP (Etobicoke North)

Ridley College: Iggulden Building and Evans Athletic Centre

Location: St. Catharines, Ontario
Completed: 1939 (Iggulden Building); 2024 (renovations and additions)
Architect: Marani, Lawson & Morris (1939)
Renovation & Addition Architect: Centerbrook Architects and Planners with LGA Architectural Partners
Nominated by: Jennie Stevens, MPP (St. Catharines)

Science North

Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Completed: 1984, 1994 (addition)
Architect: Raymond Moriyama Architects (now Moriyama Teshima Architects) with Townsend, Stefura, Baleshta and Nicholls Architects (now Bélanger Salach Architecture)
Nominated by: Jamie West, MPP (Sudbury)
York Region Administrative Centre
Location: Newmarket, Ontario
Completed: 1994 (original building), 2021 (annex)
Architect: Douglas Cardinal, WZMH
Annex Architect: WZMH Architects
Nominated by: Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP (Newmarket-Aurora)

2026 Queen's Park Picks

Corner view of a two-story brick bank building with limestone trim, arched ground-floor windows, and a dentil cornice, on a city street corner.

Image:

Jonathan Barton

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48 King West Hotel as seen from King Street West and Court House Ave.

Two workers kneel to install plank flooring in a room with exposed brick walls and original wood-framed windows, scaffolding and a mortar bucket nearby.

Image:

Annemarie Gruden, courtesy of Brandy Gould and Rob Thompson.

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Interior renovation work exposing the existing brick building.

Hotel bedroom with a white bed against a black embossed-tin headboard wall, exposed brick and an arched window opposite, black steel beam overhead.

Image:

Annemarie Gruden, courtesy of Brandy Gould and Rob Thompson.

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Sleeping area in a mezzanine made possible by uncovered tall ceilings.

48 King West Hotel

Location: Brockville, Ontario
Completed: 1922
Architect: W. & W.R.L. Blackwell (1922)
Renovation Architect: Cora Lia Taraciuk (2019)
Designers: Brandy Gould, Rob Thompson (2019)
Nominated by: Hon. Steve Clark, MPP (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)

At the main corner of Brockville's downtown, 48 King West stands among neighbours protected under the Ontario Heritage Act—but despite its historical significance, this 1922 building never had the same protection.

Contemporary gallery building at dusk with angular metal and glass volumes, an "AGH" sign on cantilevered supports, and red light trails from passing traffic.

Image:

Eduard Hueber, courtesy of KPMB Architects.

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The Art Gallery of Hamilton as seen from King Street West.

Black-and-white block plan of downtown hamilton building footprints (hotel, convention centre, department store, library, office towers) connected by a dashed elevated pedestrian walkway system.

Image:

Murray V Jones and Associates Limited, retrieved by researchers from Toronto Public Library.

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A site plan from 1970 showing the intended elevated pedestrian circulation, represented in heavy dashed lines.

Sculpture courtyard beside a glass-walled gallery wing and a gold metal-clad volume with a large cantilevered window, dark abstract sculptures on a lawn and paved terrace.

Image:

Shai Gil, courtesy of KPMB Architects.

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Art Gallery of Hamilton enclosed courtyard.

Art Gallery of Hamilton

Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Completed: 1977 (original building), 2005 (renovation and addition)
Architect: Trevor Garwood-Jones
Renovation Architect: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (now KPMB Architects)
Nominated by: Robin Lennox, MPP (Hamilton-Centre)

Sitting in the middle of downtown, the Art Gallery of Hamilton was part of an ambitious urban reconstruction effort that was never quite finished. It took 28 years, the vision of a Hamilton-born Architect, and the city’s most celebrated industry, to finally bring this piece of city building to completion with a contemporary gold-coloured twist.

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Image:

courtesy of Philip Agar Architect Inc.

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The Dominion of Canada Building as seen from the edge of Kettle Creek.

Long empty warehouse interior with exposed concrete beam ceiling, whitewashed block walls, and a bare concrete floor stretching toward garage doors at the far end. Yellow spray foam is applied to the ceiling.

Image:

courtesy of Philip Agar Architect Inc.

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The interior of the building during construction, with yellow-orange spray foam visible on the ceiling.

Aerial view of a flat-roofed concrete building beside a marina channel, with a worn roof, teal garage doors, and a parking area alongside.

Image:

courtesy of Philip Agar Architect Inc.

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Aerial view showing the state of the building before renovations.

Image:

courtesy of Philip Agar Architect Inc. and Domus Developments, respectively.

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Left: The transformed interior of the Dominion of Canada Building. Right: Live music brings new life to the former industrial building.

Dominion of Canada Building

Location: Port Stanley, Ontario
Completed: 1930, 2024 (renovation)
Architect: Government of Canada, Department of Public Works (1930)
Renovation Architect: Philip Agar Architect Inc. (2024)
Nominated by: Hon. Rob Flack, MPP (Elgin-Middlesex-London)

Standing at the mouth of Kettle Creek for close to a century, Port Stanley’s Dominion of Canada Building was a functional—if unassuming—part of the waterfront landscape. But as the city around it changes, and its original purpose is no longer required, this small building is playing a big role in helping revitalize this southern Ontario riverwalk.

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Tall mass-timber building with a wood-slatted glass curtain wall, seen from above beside a waterfront campus with a green-roofed lower structure and a lakefront in the background. The tall building has an acute, single-sloped roof.

Image:

Doublespace Photography, courtesy of Moriyama Teshima Architects.

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Exterior view of Limberlost Place on the eastern edge of George Brown Polytechnic’s waterfront campus.

Sunlit daycare classroom with floor-to-ceiling windows, a wood structural column, and children playing at low wooden tables and shelving units.

Image:

Tom Arban Photography, courtesy of Moriyama Teshima Architects.

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Interior of the ground floor childcare centre.

Atrium staircase in cross-laminated timber, with vertical wood-slat cladding and two people descending and ascending, motion-blurred, past a third figure below.

Image:

Doublespace Photography, courtesy of Moriyama Teshima Architects.

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Building’s distinctive staircase rises through the heart of the building.

Architectural section drawing showing stacked classroom floors above a lower level containing a learning landscape, mezzanine, climbing wall, and fitness rooms.

Image:

Moriyama Teshima Architects

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Section drawing showing thinness of floor system, necessary to meet zoning height restrictions.

Isometric section diagram illustrating a natural ventilation and energy strategy, with colour-coded arrows showing solar gain, air intake through a central shaft, and exhaust paths through the building section and floor plan.

Image:

courtesy of Moriyama Teshima Architects.

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An illustrative section drawing shows the passive and active movement of air through rooms and the building’s nine-storey solar chimneys. Blue and red arrows show the movement of fresh air in the solar chimney, created by the stack effect. Orange and teal arrows show the supply of fresh air through a decentralized mechanical system. Supplemental heating and cooling comes from a district energy system.

Limberlost Place

Location: Toronto, Ontario
Completed: 2025
Architect: Moriyama Teshima Architects in a joint venture with Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Nominated by: Chris Glover, MPP (Spadina-Fort York)

Rising 10 storeys above Toronto’s eastern waterfront, Limberlost Place is a building without precedent in Ontario. At four storeys taller than what was permitted by the Ontario Building Code at the time, the remarkable story of this building isn’t just its distinctive wood structure, but the work, collaboration, and vision of industry, academia, and government to make it possible.

Aerial view of a white and red gambrel-roofed river house on piers above a lake, connected to shore by a raised truss footbridge, surrounded by autumn foliage.

Image:

Liam Olders, courtesy of Provencher_Roy and National Capital Commission – Commission de la capitale nationale.

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Aerial view of NCC River House.

Attic space during construction with exposed wood roof trusses and stud framing, insulation batts stacked on the floor, a worker in a hard hat and safety vest walking through.

Image:

courtesy of Provencher_Roy.

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Interiors during construction, with new, light-coloured wood framing visible against the original structure.

The same gambrel-roofed river house in winter, set above a frozen, snow-dusted lake, with wispy clouds streaking the sky and red chairs on the snowy shoreline.

Image:

National Capital Commission – Commission de la capitale nationale.

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NCC River House in winter, its bridge crossing the Ottawa River Pathway.

Summer view of the river house from the water, with swimmers and a floating dock in the foreground and people gathered on the building's porches.

Image:

National Capital Commission – Commission de la capitale nationale.

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People enjoying the outdoor swimming area.

NCC River House

Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Completed: 1914-25
Architect: Colborne Powell Meredith (1914-25)
Renovation & Addition Architect: Provencher_Roy (formerly GRC Architects), 2019–2023
Nominated by: Lucille Collard, MPP (Ottawa-Vanier)

Perched over the water in a natural harbour near Rockcliffe Point, the NCC River House looks much as it did when the first canoes were stowed beneath it a century ago. That resemblance is the achievement, since behind its familiar appearance is a substantial renovation and upgrade that has prepared the River House for the next chapter in its storied history.

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Symmetrical Richardsonian Romanesque sandstone building with twin corner towers, a rose window, and a pyramidal central roof, fronted by lawns, statues, and lampposts.

Image:

TOImages, Adobe Stock.

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The Ontario Legislative Building.

Vintage engraving from an architectural journal depicting an ornate Gothic Revival government building with a tall central tower, published under the heading "The Canadian Architect and Builder."

Image:

Scanned from the microfilm held by McLaren Micropublishing.

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Competition entry by Darling and Curry’s, the leading design, which was never built. From The Canadian Architect and Builder, vol. 2, no.1 (1889)

Archival black-and-white photo of a burned-out building wing, its roof collapsed and window openings gutted.

Image:

Archives of Ontario, ACC 9339-N77.

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West wing after the fire of 1909.

Split archival photo: left, a partially built stone and brick structure surrounded by wooden scaffolding and cranes; right, a closer view of a corner tower under construction with masons' scaffolding still in place.

Image:

courtesy of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Media Centre

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Left: Construction of interior walls in 1887. On the right, you can see the bricks used for interior walls. Right: The legislature under construction in 1891.

Split photo comparing two multi-story atriums: left, East Wing of Queen's Park, a wood-paneled hall with arched openings, iron-railed balconies, and a stained-glass ceiling; right, West Wing of Queen's Park, a marble-clad atrium with classical columns and a paned skylight.

Image:

courtesy of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Media Centre

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Left: East Wing, featuring the original interiors as designed by Waite. Right: West Wing, featuring interiors designed by E.J. Lennox.

Queen’s Park

Location: Toronto, Ontario
Completed: 1893
Architect: Richard A. Waite (1893)
Renovation and Addition Architect: Edward James Lennox (West Wing, 1913); George Wallace Gouinlock (North Wing, 1913); Diamond Schmitt with ERA Architects (Visitor Centre, 2021)
Nominated by: Hon. Doug Ford, MPP (Etobicoke North)

Terminating the vista of Toronto’s University Avenue, the pink sandstone Ontario Legislative Building is one of the province’s most recognizable structures and a proud beacon of Ontario’s identity. Yet, as beautiful as it is, what is most extraordinary about this building isn’t its appearance, but the story of how it came to be.

Aerial view of a brick building with a green standing-seam roof and chimney, set among older brick campus buildings with dark roofs, athletic fields, and mature trees.

Image:

Scott Norsworthy, courtesy of LGA Architectural Partners.

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Aerial view of Iggulden building and Ridley College campus.

Aerial view of a courtyard between a low modern building and a brick building with a pyramidal green roof, and a basketball court in the corner.

Image:

Scott Norsworthy, courtesy of LGA Architectural Partners.

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Landscaped areas between the Iggulden building (right) and Evans Athletic Centre (left).

Architectural rendering of a building cross-section showing multiple levels of activity, including classrooms, a gallery with wall-mounted art, and an angled wood-ceilinged space with people gathered on tiered levels.

Image:

courtesy of Centerbrook Architects & Planners.

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Rendered section of the Iggulden building, showing the choreography of floor levels in the existing structure.

Rendered aerial view of a campus site plan showing a cutaway assembly building, an indoor gymnasium with a basketball court, connecting pathways, and surrounding green space.

Image:

courtesy of Centerbrook Architects & Planners.

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Rendered plan perspectives showing the Evans Athletic Centre in the foreground and the Iggulden building in the distance.

Library reading room with a vaulted wood-paneled ceiling, rows of bookshelves, wooden study tables, colourful banners, and small enclosed wood study pods.

Image:

Scott Norsworthy, courtesy of LGA Architectural Partners.

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Interior of the Iggy showing study areas and perimeter bookshelves.

Ridley College: Iggulden Building and Evans Athletic Centre

Location: St. Catharines, Ontario
Completed: 1939 (Iggulden Building); 2024 (renovations and additions)
Architect: Marani, Lawson & Morris (1939)
Renovation & Addition Architect: Centerbrook Architects and Planners with LGA Architectural Partners
Nominated by: Jennie Stevens, MPP (St. Catharines)

For most of a century, the middle of Ridley College's campus was a parking lot that two buildings had turned their backs on, each presenting it a blank wall. Their transformation, opened in 2024, would not only provide the school much needed art facilities, but it would also re-link the campus and re-value a long-cherished landmark.

Image:

Tom Arban, courtesy of Bélanger Salach Architecture.

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Exterior view of Science North and its siting on the landscape, as seen from Paris Street.

Image:

Tom Arban, courtesy of Bélanger-Salach Architecture.

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The Bélanger-Salach Architecture Ramp at Science North, showing the building’s concrete structure meeting the rocky Canadian Shield below.

Image:

courtesy of Bélanger Salach Architecture.

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Drawing of Science North as seen from the northwest.

Science North

Location: Sudbury, Ontario
Completed: 1984, 1994 (addition)
Architect: Raymond Moriyama Architects (now Moriyama Teshima Architects) with Townsend, Stefura, Baleshta and Nicholls Architects (now Bélanger Salach Architecture)
Nominated by: Jamie West, MPP (Sudbury)

A mining city in Northern Ontario might seem like an unlikely place for landmark architecture. Yet, it is precisely this unique northern context—where the boreal forest meets a global mining powerhouse—that inspired Science North, one of the province's most significant architectural landmarks.

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Close-up of curved beige stone towers, one with an inset clock face, alongside a gravel roof deck and glass-walled office wing, with a glass tower visible in the distance.

Image:

Jenna Centra, courtesy of the Regional Municipality of York.

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The York Region administrative centre in the foreground, with its distinctive curves and clock tower, and the new annex building in the background.

Aerial view of a curving, almost butterfly-shaped government building with tiered white terraces and twin clock towers, set beside a circular entrance drive and suburban surroundings.

Image:

Jenna Centra, courtesy of the Regional Municipality of York.

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Distinctive curvilinear plan and tower schematic as seen from above.

Architectural plan showing the building's curving, four-winged footprint with annotated details.

Image:

Plan drawings by Douglas J. Cardinal Architect Ltd (now Douglas Cardinal Architect Inc.), courtesy of the Regional Municipality of York.

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Plan drawings show the complex curvilinear geometry of the building, made possible by Cardinal’s early adoption of computer aided design.

Looking straight down a tightly curved stairwell with rounded metal railings spiraling several floors to a landing below.

Image:

courtesy of the Regional Municipality of York.

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Interior spaces like the stairs are also curved.

York Region Administrative Centre

Location: Newmarket, Ontario
Completed: 1994 (original building), 2021 (annex)
Architect: Douglas Cardinal, WZMH
Annex Architect: WZMH Architects
Nominated by: Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP (Newmarket-Aurora)

Emerging from its suburban landscape like a natural formation, the distinctive architecture of York Region Administrative Centre instantly sets it apart—a civic landmark for one of the fastest growing municipalities in Ontario and a recognizable legacy of one of Canada’s most important Architects.

These projects form our Queen’s Park Picks 2026 series. We hope you enjoyed learning more about them. Check out last year's series here or the full series on the blOAAg, or view the map below to learn more about great buildings across the province!

Queen's Park Picks - Past and Present

Spanning 11 years, the Queen’s Park Picks represent most regions in Ontario. The architecture is varied, ranging across multiple eras and styles of architecture. Some of the QP Picks were nominated because they were an MPP’s favourite building, some were important community or cultural landmarks, and some may simply have been a built space your local MPP wanted to know more about. Put together, they create a growing database of compelling examples of our province’s built environment.

You can click on them to learn more about the project, or expand the map by selecting the top right corner to get even more background. The 2026 selections are featured in black.