To the east, the building looks out on the Byward Market, and to the west is MacKenzie Avenue and Major's Hill Park.

Today, it houses a portion of Headquarters operations for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

By the early 20th century, the Parliament Buildings were running out of space to house Canada's civil service and offices of the legislative branch of the government.

Work began on the building in 1913, but the First World War and other problems intervened, greatly slowing construction.

[1] The building was named after the Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria, who served as 10th Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916.