Ottawa is the capital city of Canada, and forms the core of the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes the city of Gatineau, bordering Ottawa to the north. Together, the OttawaâÂÂGatineau metropolitan area has a population of over 1.48 million, the fourth-largest in Canada. As of 2026, there are 90 buildings that stand taller than 75 metres (246 ft). Despite this, Ottawa has few high-rises that exceed 100 m (328 ft) compared to similarly populated Calgary and Edmonton, having only eight. It is the largest city in Canada without a skyscraper taller than 150 m (492 ft). The NCR has a system of protected view planes that are governed by the National Capital Commission. This has limited the height of buildings the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau to protect the prominence of the Canadian Parliament Buildings. Instead, the tallest building in Ottawa is Claridge Icon, a 143 m (469 ft), 45-storey residential tower completed in 2022 in Little Italy.
Selected as Canada's capital in 1857, construction on the Parliament Buildings soon began in 1859 and was completed by 1876, housing the Parliament of Canada. After the Centre Block caught fire in 1916, the edifice was rebuilt with the incorporation of the Peace Tower, a bell and clock tower reaching 92 metres (302 ft) in height. Until 1965, buildings in Ottawa were limited to 45.5 m (149 ft) so that the Peace Tower could dominate the skyline. Hence, the Peace Tower stood as the tallest building in Ottawa for about half a century from 1927. The removal of the height limit led to a boom in commercial high-rises that lasted until the mid-1970s, with the tallest of the Place de Ville complex surpassing the Centre Block in height in 1971. High-rise development continued until the early 1990s, after which no buildings taller than 75 m (246 ft) were erected in Ottawa until 2004.
Since then, most new high-rises have been for residential use. An increasing number of high-rises have been added in neighbourhoods outside of downtown, such as the 108 m (354 ft) Minto Metropole in 2004, the tallest building in Westboro, and the Claridge Plaza complex in Sandy Hill, adding to a growing cluster around ByWard Market. Since the early 2020s, there has been a rapid surge in residential towers across OttawaâÂÂGatineau, spurred on by healthy population growth and policy encouraging transit-oriented development. 29 buildings taller than 75 m (246 ft) have been completed in a four-year span between 2022 and 2025, including Claridge Icon in Little Italy, Luxo Place in Cyrville, Ascent at LeBreton Flats, and The Dale I in Mechanicsville, each being the tallest building in their respective neighbourhoods.
Unlike many urban areas in Northern America, OttawaâÂÂGatineau's tallest buildings are spread across various neighbourhoods. The largest group of tall buildings is in Downtown Ottawa, forming a cluster that extends to Centretown. Parliament Hill separates the cluster from the Ottawa River to the north. Across the river in Gatineau is the central business district of Hull. While not as built-up as Downtown Ottawa, Hull contains the Terrasses de la Chaudière complex of government office buildings; its main tower was the tallest building in OttawaâÂÂGatineau from 1978 to 2022. Federal government buildings are also found in Tunney's Pasture. Otherwise, the largest clusters of residential high-rises are found around Little Italy, in Westboro, or near ByWard Market.
Downtown and Centretown contain the largest cluster of tall buildings in OttawaâÂÂGatineau, while other groups of tall buildings can be found nearby. The cluster in the ByWard Market and on Rideau Street across the Rideau Canal is northeast of Downtown, and the cluster of Hull, across the Ottawa River in the city of Gatineau, is northwest of Downtown. A system of protected view planes preserve views of the Peace Tower, the oldest building on the map, imposing building height restrictions near the centre of the city. This map shows the location of buildings taller than 75 m (246 ft) in Downtown Ottawa and its surrounding neighbourhoods. Each marker is numbered by the building's height rank, and coloured by the decade of its completion.
A significant share of high-rises in Ottawa are located further from downtown Ottawa, including its tallest building, Claridge Icon, which is in Little Italy.
This list ranks completed buildings in OttawaâÂÂGatineau that stand at least 75 m (246 ft) tall as of 2026, based on standard height measurement to architectural tip. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. Only occupied floors are counted, excluding mechanical only floors. The âÂÂYearâ column indicates the year of completion. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion with earlier buildings ranked first, and then alphabetically. Most of the buildings are in the city of Ottawa, while the few in Gatineau are all in the neighbourhood of Hull.
There are 7 buildings under construction in Ottawa that are planned to be at least 75 m (246 ft) tall as of 2026, based on standard height measurement.
Four buildings held the title of tallest building in OttawaâÂÂGatineau.