Work has now begun on the walls that hold up P.E.I.'s Province House — as phase two of a major restoration project on the 171-year-old building gets underway.

Greg Shaw, project manager with Parks Canada, said the hope is the restoration project, which began in January 2015, will be complete by December 2021.

Province House has been closed to the public for construction since 2015, but members of the media were allowed inside for a tour Thursday as phase two of the restoration begins. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

"It really sounds strange, but 2022, we kind of hope that it looks very much the way it did before we started this work," he said.

"That's a really tough thing to say when you spend a significant amount of funds on a building. But that's part of the conservation approach. We want to maintain those heritage, character-defining elements so that when people come through that it looks very much the way it did when we moved out."

The outside stone on these walls came from Pictou, N.S., while the inside is sandstone from P.E.I. The work is currently being restored. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

The federal government just announced another $14.1 million toward the project, bringing the total estimated cost for phases one and two to $61 million.

Province House was built in 1847. Heritage elements have been protected with plywood and bubble wrap during construction. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

In addition to the restoration, upgrades for accessibility are also part of the restoration says Greg Shaw, project manager for Parks Canada. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

The current estimated cost for phases one and two of the restoration is $61 million. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

Tim Chandler, project manager with Public Services and Procurement Canada, stands in front of the walls being restored on the top level. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

A view of the legislative chamber as it undergoes restoration. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

Phase two of the project includes restoration of exterior and structural walls, as well as the floor and roof. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

Greg Shaw, project manager Parks Canada, says the hope is for the building to look much like it used to when the project is complete. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

The exoskeleton, which was built as part of phase one, will offer support for phase two — which includes replacing the roof. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

Tim Chandler shows one of the slate tiles that will be used for the new roof. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

Phase one was building a steel exoskeleton around Province House, which will now help with phase two. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

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