The second burning of the Parliament buildings occurred during the early hours of the morning on October 1, 2018. According to reports from the National Roast, a small fire initially contained to the kitchen quickly spread and consumed Canada’s Parliament buildings in their entirety. All that remained of the building was a sizeable pile of ash and the lingering smell of garlic and burnt toast. There were no casualties reported in the fire.
The Parliamentary Protective Service investigators did rule out foul play, however they also did not announce any leads and witnesses on the Hill reported nothing out of the ordinary the night preceding the fire. Staff at the Parliament Buildings reported seeing Members of Parliament illegally using Parliamentary resources to ready their re-election campaigns, while former Governor General Craig Mutter was seen making Garlic Bread in the kitchen prior to the fire.
Early estimates report a ten-year reconstruction timeline. In Centre Block’s place, then Governor General Matthew Boulden announced that the Sir John A MacDonald Building would serve as a temporary replacement for the chamber during reconstruction.
The National Archives were in the process of transcribing the official records kept within the Parliamentary Library, however most of the documents were lost. Head Librarian Doris Reid was able to save a single box of documents, containing incomplete records of various Parliaments dating back to 1998. These records serve as the basis for information currently held in the Archive. Any information prior to this is considered lost as part of the "Dark Age", dating back to the founding of Canada by Prime Minister Ronald Macdonald.