The Canadian Building Trades Monument is a permanent public art installation located on a 100m² site in Major’s Hill Park, Ottawa, ON. The monument honours and celebrates the men and women who build Canada every day and commemorates the losses they have endured in the workplace. It was unveiled on May 16, 2017 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The monument consists of a public plaza, sculptural and topographical elements, engraved benches, lighting and a commemorative plaque. Its most prominent feature is a pair of oversized plumb bobs made of Cambrian black granite and mounted on stainless steel pins. Plumb bobs have been used as tools in construction projects since ancient times and here they symbolize the intersection of

earthly gravity and human ingenuity.

Project Team

John Greer; Intercontinental Sculpture Inc.
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited
Annie Hillis Public Art Consulting
National Capital Commission / Department of Canadian Heritage
Canada’s Building Trades Unions

Jury Comments

The elegant shape used in the installation is human scaled and is like a tool. The project is thoughtfully detailed, contemporary and provides simplicity of a special idea that is open to interpretation. It creates a destination along a key route.