Dominion-Chalmers United Church
Dominion-Chalmers United Church is a large United Church in downtown Ottawa, at 355 Cooper Street near O’Connor (with access from Lisgar Street). It was formed in 1962 when two long-standing congregations from Methodist and Presbyterian traditions joined together.
One part of the church’s history comes from Chalmers Presbyterian/United Church. This group began as the Bank Street Canada Presbyterian Church on Bank Street at Slater Street (1866–1914). Architect Alexander Cowper Hutchison built the church in 1868, and after a fire it was rebuilt in 1881 by William Hodgson. Hutchison also designed the Bank Street Presbyterian Sunday School in 1890. The church was renamed after Thomas Chalmers, a leader in the 1843 disruption of the Church of Scotland. In Ottawa, their related congregation is Knox Presbyterian, located two blocks east on Lisgar at Elgin.
The other part comes from The Dominion, originally Metcalfe Street Methodist. Metcalfe Street Methodist opened in 1830 and, after merging with Rideau Street Methodists in 1852, became The Dominion in 1876. The Dominion Church building on Metcalfe Street at Queen Street was designed by Henry Hodge Horsey and built in 1875–1876. A plaque at The Dominion mentions Alexis Helmer, who inspired John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields. That building burned in February 1961. The Dominion-Chalmers lineage also traces back to Methodist circuit riders in Hull, Lower Canada from 1816 and a wooden church on Rideau Street in the Lower Town from 1827.
Today and renovations: The Dominion-Chalmers site has undergone major renovations, especially to the sanctuary after a 1955 fire. The space is used for concerts and other large events, sometimes of national significance.
Carleton University involvement: In 2018, Carleton University purchased the church building to use as a performance space, while the congregation continues to hold religious services there. The site was renamed the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre (though some sources still call it Carleton Dominion-Chalmers United Centre). Mara Brown was named the first director of the Carleton extension in April 2019.
Notable events: The building has hosted several state and public ceremonies, including state funerals for George Eulas Foster (1932), Sidney Earle Smith (1959), and Ed Broadbent (2024). It also hosted a life celebration for Professor Pius Adesanmi in March 2019 after his death in a plane crash.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:27 (CET).