Upcoming projects - Public art and monuments

List of upcoming projects

• National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan
• Memorial to the Victims of Communism — Canada, a Land of Refuge

National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan

The National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan will serve as a testament to the commitment and sacrifice of Canadian Armed Forces members, police officers, public servants and civilians who served in Canada's mission in Afghanistan. The Monument will also recognize the strong support offered by Canadians at home to those who served during the mission.

Canadian Heritage is facilitating the development of the Monument in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada. The National Capital Commission will take responsibility for the development of design and construction of the Monument, with completion expected in 2023.

The site

The Monument will be prominently located at LeBreton Flats across from the Canadian War Museum, on the east side of Booth Street, north of the National Holocaust Monument. With views of Parliament and other key federal institutions, the site will provide easy access to and high visibility to the Monument for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Design competition

Teams of professional artists, landscape architects, architects, and other urban design professionals are invited to submit their credentials and examples of prior work on similar projects on the Government's Buy and Sell page.

To view and download the competition documents, please visit Buyandsell.gc.ca — National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan (10190645).

The Request for Qualifications will close on January 17, 2020.

This first phase of the design competition will evaluate qualifications and shortlist up to five teams; the second phase – the Request for Proposals – will invite these finalists to develop their design concepts. Before the second phase, Veterans, affected families and other stakeholders will be consulted on the competition design guidelines. The public will be invited to review the finalists' proposals before a design is chosen.

Memorial to the Victims of Communism – Canada, a Land of Refuge

The Memorial to the Victims of Communism – Canada, a Land of Refuge will recognize Canada's international role as a place of refuge for people fleeing injustice and persecution and honour the millions who suffered under communist regimes.

Canadian Heritage is facilitating the development of the monument in partnership with Tribute to Liberty. The National Capital Commission will take responsibility for the construction of the Memorial, with completion of major elements expected in late 2018.

The site

The Memorial will be built just west of the terraces of the Garden of the Provinces and Territories in Ottawa. This intimate site borders Confederation Boulevard and the Parliamentary and Judicial Precincts and is situated near key federal institutions, including Library and Archives Canada.

The design

The winning design chosen for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism is "Arc of Memory." This concept was submitted by Team Raff, a group of architects and landscape architects based in Toronto that includes Paul Raff (artist and architect), Michael A. Ormston-Holloway (designer and certified arborist), Brett Hoornaert (landscape architectural intern) and Luke Kairys (landscape architect). "Arc of Memory" is a sculptural array of over 4,000 bronze rods intended to express the vastness of communist oppression and invite visitors to reflect on Canada as a free and welcoming country.

Design competition

In fall 2016, teams of professional artists, landscape architects, architects, and other urban design professionals were invited to provide their credentials and examples of prior work.

A distinguished jury of design professionals and content specialists was assembled to evaluate the concepts for this competition. The jury was composed of five members: Alexandra Badzak (Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa Art Gallery); Larry Beasley, C.M. (retired Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver); Ruth Derksen, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia); Ludwik Klimkowski, (Board Chair of Tribute to Liberty); Ted Merrick (Director of the design studio at Ferris + Associates).

A public viewing of the finalists' design concepts was held on March 2, 2017, where attendees could view the presentations, meet the design teams, and share their thoughts. Canadians from across the country were also invited to comment on the designs through an online survey that ran from March 2–10, 2017. The survey results are available here.

The jury considered this feedback along with the comments from the National Capital Commission's Advisory Committee on Planning, Design and Realty and experts in conservation, landscape, engineering and costing. Based on the jury's recommendation, the Government of Canada announced that the design presented by Team Raff has been selected for the future Memorial.