13 Ambitious Projects in Canada That Were Bailed On

Sure, Canada has a ton of impressive buildings and infrastructure projects to complement its stunning natural beauty.

But we could have had a lot more.

From subways in the capital to the world’s tallest building, here are 13 ambitious undertakings we wish would have seen the light of day. 

1. Original Parliament Building, Ottawa (1860)
Yup, pretty majestic. Not that there’s anything wrong with our current parliament (architecturally, at least).

2. Ottawa Subway
Sure, Ottawa may not need a subway, but it makes sense that our nation’s capital wants one – badly. Four rounds of discussions since 1915 have already put an end to the notion, but maybe the fifth time’s the charm.

3. Chateau Qu’Appelle, Regina (1913)
The saddest part of the Chateau Qu’Appelle is that it was already under construction before being demolished following the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway’s bankruptcy.

 

4. Richardson Building, Winnipeg (1929)
It really hurts our heart to know this building wasn’t constructed when we look around the Winnipeg skyline today. Damn it, Great Depression.

5. Edmonton Omniplex (1970)
A little more exciting than Commonwealth stadium, isn’t it? However, functionality and cost, it turns out, are hard-to-ignore realities.

 

6. Montreal-Paris Tower (1964)
Then-mayor Jean Drapeau was dying to build a monumental tower in Montreal, and what better chance to showcase 325 metres of curved concrete than at Expo’67.

7. Rogers Tower, Montreal (2008)
Building this inspiring piece of architecture is the least they could have done for overcharging us on our mobile phone bill – every. single month. 

8. Connaught Tower, Hamilton (2008)
A triangle glass shard over 1,000 feet tall – in Hamilton. Let that concept sink in.

 

9. 1 Bloor East, Toronto (2007)
This was a fun little fiasco to follow, wasn’t it? Though plans are still in place to build something where this 80-plus-floor project was intended to be constructed, it’ll surely be a shadow of the lot’s previous ambitions.

 10. The Sapphire Tower, Toronto (2007)
If prolific developer Harry Stinson had his way, Temperance Street would currently be home to an 81-story deep-blue glass tower that can only be described as phallic in shape – all the way to the tip. Sounds sexy.

11. Eatons/John Maryon Tower, Toronto (1971)
If built, this 140-story mammoth at College Park would have been the world’s tallest until 2008, and was planned five years before the CN Tower was erected. Aura will take its place when it officially opens this year.

12. Toronto’s public transit system (Ongoing, forever)
We had to. Seriously, how many proposals will we have to endure before this city has a proper transportation network?

13. Singer City, Calgary (1971)
2,000 feet in the air, over 1 million feet of commercial space. Come on, Calgary, put that oil money to work. 

 

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Images: archiseek.com, blta.ca, forum.skyscraperpage.com,ottawa.ca

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