Five of Canada's ten largest cities enforce height restriction laws. In Ottawa, skyscrapers could not be built above the height of the Peace Tower until the late 1970s, when the restriction was changed so that no building could overwhelm the skyline.[1] In Montreal, skyscrapers cannot be built above 200m of height nor the elevation of Mount Royal.[2] The City of Vancouver has enacted "view corridors" which limit the height of buildings in most areas of downtown.[3] The City of Edmonton had an elevation restriction, approximately 150 m (492 ft) above downtown, due to the proximity of the city centre airport, until it closed in November 2013.[4][5]
This list does not include towers, including the CN Tower in Toronto, as they are not technically considered to be buildings.
Tallest buildings in Canada
Buildings are ranked according to their height to architectural top, as provided by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Click a column header to sort the table in a different way. All sources are up to date as of April 2013. To qualify for this table, a building must be quoted by a reliable source as having an official height of more than 150 metres.
Under construction
Tallest demolished buildings in Canada
This table lists buildings in Canada that were demolished or destroyed and at one time stood at least 60 metres (197 ft) in height.
Timeline of the tallest buildings in Canada
In the 20th century, only three cities have been the site of each sequential tallest building in Canada – Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec City.
Tallest building by city
This list ranks Canadian cities with buildings that stand at least 50 m (164 ft) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts.
* Denotes project still under construction.
** Denotes city with height restrictions in effect.
Number of tall buildings by city
This list includes cities with at least five completed high rise buildings over 100 metres high.
^"Permitted Projections Above the Height Limit (Sec. 64)". City of Ottawa. 2008. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
^"Les limites de hauteure". Ville de Montréal. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
^"Protecting Vancouver's views". City of Vancouver. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
^"Edmonton City Centre Airport" (PDF). City of Edmonton. May 15, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 4, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
^"Tallest tower in the West pitched for Edmonton". CBC News. November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
^ a b c"CTBUH Tall Building Database". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved April 7, 2013.[permanent dead link]
^"Diagrams". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
^ a b"Toronto Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ a b"Calgary Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ a b"Montreal Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ a b"Vancouver Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ a b"Mississauga Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^"Edmonton Skyscraper Diagram". SkyscraperPage. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^"Drawings of L'Avenue - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
^"Niagara Falls Hotels, Hilton Fallsview Hotel and Suites".