Australian Federal Police increase patrols around Parliament House in Canberra after deadly Ottawa shooting

Federal police have increased patrols around Parliament House in Canberra after a gunman attacked Canada's parliament.

The gunman, identified as 32-year-old Muslim convert Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, shot dead a soldier standing guard at Canada's main war memorial before entering the parliament building and being killed by the sergeant-at-arms.

The incident came just days after another Canadian soldier died when he was hit by a car in what officials said was an Islamic State-inspired attack near Montreal.

Federal MPs in Canberra stood for a moment's silence in the House of Representatives this afternoon.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Australia Michael Small was watching proceedings as party leaders expressed their condolences and concern.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament that "no country on Earth is more akin to Australia than Canada".

"Today, more than ever, Australians and Canadians are family," he said.

"We feel Canada's shock, pain, and anger.

"I regard Stephen Harper, their Prime Minister, as a friend and almost a brother."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said all Australians had been affected, especially those who worked at Canberra's Parliament House and Australian War Memorial.

"It must also have been especially confronting for all the diligent staff of our building and our War Memorial and their families," he said.

"They serve this Parliament with honour, and they care for our War Memorial."

Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said security around Parliament House in Canberra had been bolstered in the wake of the attack.

"There will be an enhanced Australian Federal Police presence around the building and we will obviously continue to monitor the situation to make sure the deployment around the building is appropriate for what we assess to be the risk," he told AM.

Briefly, in the early hours of this morning just following the Ottawa attack, security screening measures at the entrance to Parliament House were also increased.

People working in the building were asked to hold up their passes to a locked glass door before they were approved to enter.

Mr Keenan emphasised there had been no direct threat against Parliament House.

"There's nothing specific that we're aware of that would give us cause for concern," he said.

There were also extra police patrols at the Canadian High Commission in Canberra.

A lockdown in Ottawa had included Australia's High Commission, which is two blocks away from the parliament.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said all embassy staff there were fine and had been allowed to go home on foot.

She said she had contacted her Canadian counterpart by phone text message.

"I did have the opportunity to make contact with Canadian foreign minister John Baird who was inside parliament house in Ottawa and was only about 50 feet away from the gunman who made his way into their parliament house," she told ABC News 24.

Ms Bishop said the attack had "the hallmarks of a terrorist attack" though it was too early to know the motivations of the gunman.

Defence Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin said he had offered his condolences to the chief of Canada's defence forces, General Tom Lawson, this morning.

Air Chief Marshal Binskin said the deaths of two Canadian soldiers had caused "some anxiety" for Australia's Defence personnel and their families.

"Please be assured that Defence and other security agencies are actively monitoring developments in Canada and more broadly around the world," he said in a statement.

"We continue to assess all available information to determine what action, if any, may be required in Australia."

Bishop confident security measures will keep Parliament safe

Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop told Parliament that the building's occupants should be vigilant.

But she said she wanted to reassure them that new security arrangements put in place a month ago were designed "to protect us against threats of this very nature".

"Our Parliament and its perimeter are very different to the design of the Canadian parliament and we have appropriate measures to prevent such an attack from succeeding here," she said.

"We have a number of layers of security measures designed to protect building occupants.

"The images showing members taking action and barricading themselves in the chamber in Canada are of concern.

"The range of armed response, security and lockdown arrangements that we have in place means that this type of action will not be necessary here."

Mr Abbott convened Cabinet's National Security Committee this morning and it met for about an hour.

He said he wanted to assure Australians the Government was acting to keep the country safe.

"Australians woke this morning to further confirmation that the threat to free countries and free institutions is very real indeed," he said.