| Joseph Shepard Building | |
| Native Name: | Édifice Joseph-Shepard |
| Native Name Lang: | French |
| Coordinates: | 43.7633°N -79.413°W |
| Alternate Names: | Government of Canada Building |
| Building Type: | Office building |
| Architectural Style: | Modernist |
| Address: | 4900 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M2N 6B1 |
| Start Date: | 1975 |
| Completion Date: | 1977 |
| Owner: | Government of Canada |
| Architect: | Macy DuBois |
| Public Transit: | Sheppard–Yonge |
The Joseph Shepard Building (French: Édifice Joseph-Shepard),[1] also known as the Joseph Shepard Federal Building, Government of Canada Building, or simply 4900 Yonge, is an office complex used by the federal government of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Yonge Street in the North York neighbourhood of Lansing, the building lies within North York City Centre.
Built in 1977 as a medium-sized, planned consolidation project[2] to service residents of the former Metropolitan Toronto districts of North York and Etobicoke, the building houses offices for passport services, Service Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and Canadian Forces recruiting centre in addition to other federal departments. The building was designed by Macy DuBois and is a Classified Federal Heritage Building.[3] The building is named for Joseph Shepard, an early settler in North York whom acquired 400acres of land nearby and also the namesake of Sheppard Avenue.
The structure, with its multi-layered design, stands out among the surrounding skyscrapers along Yonge Street, which were built during the office boom of the 1990s surrounding the diversification of North York City Centre. The building is within walking distance to Sheppard–Yonge subway station and short distance from Ontario Highway 401.
The building is one of two buildings used by the federal government in North York, the other being the Environment and Climate Change Canada Building near York University Heights. Other federal facilities in Toronto include the Dominion Public Building, the Canada Centre Building, and the Health Canada Building; the latter two buildings located in the former city of Scarborough.
On March 14, 2016, two members of the Canadian Forces recruiting centre were stabbed by someone carrying a knife.[4]